Diamond Stratosphere
by Kitsune Foxfire
Summary: The Winged Ds had been all but wiped out, and those that were left lived in hiding. THESE four were tired of hiding, and were ready to spread their wings and fly free, even if it meant shaking up the world to do it. First step: Finding trustworthy crews. And... maybe learning to fly MIGHT be a good idea... Diving into the Sea Sequel. Can be read alone or as followup.
1. Chapter 1

_**Kitsune here with the sequel to Diving into the Sea which I guess you could maybe read alone, but it'll be more understandable if you read the first. Thanks to Missjesscab for the title. BIG thanks to Samettiekku, WeRun and Anj for beta-ing for me. There still might be mistakes, this is a monster story. Beyond that, I can't think of any other facts I should add in this one? If you all think of things mention it in a review and I will answer it AND add it in a note at the end of the story. Sorry... things have recently gone from... bad to... horrible. My life is a shit-cake right now. So I'm posting this to feel better so I feel like I'm leaving things out. Please don't worry about it all though, alright? Just, I hope you enjoy the story.**_

* * *

 _ **ACE**_

Cora-san was going to kill him for coming here alone if he survived this. Ace stopped barely twenty feet from the towering giant of a man who reclined on an equally massive chair. The look the teen gave the man was decidedly not impressed. This 'World's Strongest' guy was _OLD._ Like, older than Jiji - not that he'd seen Garp in forever but still. So yeah, _maybe_ this geezer could have kept up with that bastard Roger, but Ace didn't see what the big deal was. Who the hell would follow a man with all this medical crap hooked up to him? It pissed him off that _this guy_ had somehow managed to get his damn crew to mess with Ace's little family. And now? Now they were all _staring at him_! Like he was some kind of- NO. He didn't like this guy or this crew _at all_. "So you're supposed to be the strongest in the world, you old geezer?" He snorted, his unspoken opinion clear as day.

"Gahahaha, aren't you a cheeky brat?" The man leaned forward slightly, not even bothering to get up and it just pissed Ace off more. "What's your name?"

"None of your damn business you creepy old goat!" He snapped back, "Who the hell do you think you are? Sending your fucking crew to spy on me and my brothers?!"

The old man looked confused, his brow furrowed slightly as he looked down on Ace. Like he didn't know what Ace was talking about! Ace was _pissed_ , and this bastard had put his brothers at risk! He'd even put Cora-san at risk! Not that the teen didn't think their foster-parent could handle himself… most of the time… but he wasn't going to stand for it. All Ace had left was his tiny family, and he was going to show the _world_ not to mess with them. If that meant raining down hell on this old fart who thought he was all that, then so be it! Flames crackled to life along his arms as he leveled his best glare at the giant man. "I'm going to _kill_ you!"

The very fact that Whitebeard obviously didn't take him seriously was enough to send Ace into a full on rage. With a feral sounding snarl he shot forward, pulling the dagger Law had lifted for him off of some dumbass in Shabondy. Ace threw himself at Whitebeard, intending to blind the bastard and get rid of that smug look once and for all. So focused on his attack he almost didn't notice the hand coming at him to bat him away like a pesky fly. Twisting in the air he managed to avoid most of the blow, though the man's pointer finger still caught his hip and sent him sprawling back onto the deck. It stung, but slamming into a rock face courtesy of Luffy actually hurt more. Grey eyes narrowed further as he wordlessly snarled, rolling to his feet and facing his enemy. His whole body ached more from keeping his wings in than the blow. But there was no way he was going to give this guy any advantage.

"Do you really think you can take me, brat?" Whitebeard seemed amused.

"Easily!"

"Gahahaha! You've got guts, boy."

"Oyaji, don't encourage him." A blond with what had to be the oddest haircut Ace had ever seen sighed before turning his bored-looking gaze to Ace. The freckled teen growled. "He's just too stupid to know when he's outclassed."

He tossed the dagger at the blond, forgetting for a moment that he was on an enemy ship and that was his only actual weapon. It was still worth it to see those sleepy blue eyes widen in shock when the dagger found its mark in the man's shoulder. "First blood." He smirked, lowering himself into a fighting crouch. If this guy wanted to go first, so be it.

The blond frowned at him, "That only counts if your opponent _bleeds,_ yoi." He pulled the dagger out of his own shoulder, blue flames lapping at the spot as he tossed the _spotless_ dagger hilt deep into the deck. Ace gaped at him and the frown became a smirk. "Last chance to run away, little boy."

"I _never_ run." Even if he had no clue what the hell he was facing. Some kind of devil fruit he guessed, but what? He settled onto the balls of his feet for a split second before dashing forward, being sure to not charge in a straight line.

Sleepy eyes watched him appraisingly though the man didn't move until the last possible second, blocking a powerful punch with his shin. "That _almost_ tickled."

A snarl was his answer and Ace spun, dodging a kick instead of letting it go through him. His instincts screamed at him _not to get hit_. He listened, twisting out of the way of another kick and using his momentum to answer with one of his own. Flame met weird blue flames but it _did_ cause the man to slow slightly. Ace took the chance to spring away, looking for the next opening.

"Quit playing around, Marco!" Someone in the crowd shouted. The blond didn't react to the catcall, eyes watching Ace just as lazily as before. The teen swore if nothing else he was going to put some _respect_ in that look as he lashed out with a flaming right hook. He knew it wouldn't work, but it didn't have to. All he needed was for the man to flinch even _slightly_ away from the fire and- _there_! His left arm shot out, focusing all his attention on _hitting the bastard_ when his hand connected with the man's chin. He barely blocked the kick aimed at his ribs in retaliation. _THAT_ hurt. Still he grinned to see blood on the man's lip even as he felt his own ribs ache in protest. There was shouting now; he blocked it out.

"That stung, yoi." Blue eyes narrowed, suddenly more serious and Ace felt the thrill of fear - like stepping off a tree limb and not having your wings out. He hid it behind a wider grin even as he _just knew_ this was going to hurt.

Three rapid kicks barely blocked, one punch to the head avoided by a margin and Ace was backing up, panting. He was _so screwed_ but he kept throwing his own punches and kicks. Most missed but a few had to be blocked. He didn't make it past the guard again. Ace barely managed to slip past another frighteningly strong kick that managed to crunch into the wood of the wall he'd backed himself up to in a subconscious attempt to protect his hidden wings. When the wall buckled and splintered he rolled away, yelping as a foot caught him just below those oh-so-sensitive muscles on his back. His flames lashed out beyond his control in response and he heard the angry shouts of the rest of the crew. Something must have caught on fire. He was too busy trying to not keen as he rose to his feet to care about something like that. He wouldn't fall here; his brothers needed him. Choking back the sound he rasped out, "That the best you got?"

And instantly regretted it as his whole vision was filled with _that man_. He had no time to dodge or offer retaliation, just desperately block what he could, snarling in rage, his flames once more lashing out in response. Those blue eyes narrowed dangerously and Ace didn't even have time to block the next kick to his side that sent him stumbling. His hand shot out, catching the man's foot and causing him to nearly fall as Ace recovered his own footing. It turned out to be a mistake as the man somehow leapt and _twisted_ in the air, bringing his other leg across Ace's back in an explosion of screaming white agony he hadn't felt in years.

The teen didn't even realize he'd been sent skidding across the deck, too focused on trying to breathe as his back spasmed. He screamed, unaware the fires he'd inadvertently started had flared before going out. It _hurt_ so much!

"Marco, you didn't have to break his damn fool back!"

"I didn't, yoi." He felt the man standing over him and his body shuddered, warring with itself. He couldn't breathe through the pain. "Brat?" He sounded concerned, and Ace _hated him for the lie_ even before he touched Ace's back. The teen let out a choked sob, muscles screaming under the touch before they seized up one last time, his wings sprawling uselessly on the deck as they twitched. It still hurt-they shivered, the phantom memories of the last time he'd been hurt like that wracking his body. " _Shit!_ Medic!"

"Is that-?"

"- left from Shabondy?"

"-the fuck?"

"Marco- kill him?"

He whimpered at the last one he heard, trying to pull his wings in only to gasp in pain as they barely twitched. "Ace?" Heavy footfalls rattled the deck, like someone was running, " _AC-_ Damn it, you stupid little shit!" He knew that voice and tried desperately to get the air into his lungs to tell Cora-san to run.

"Rocinante?"

"What the hell did you do, you moron?!" A fist collided none-too-kindly with his head. "This wasn't the plan at all, you freckled excuse for a seagull."

"Cora-san you gotta ru-"

"SHUT UP YOU LITTLE SHIT and hold still!" Despite the angry words Cora-san's hands were gentle as they smoothy ran over the trembling wings. Large fingers both combed feathers in place and gently felt the bones for damage at the same time. "What the hell happened?"

"We were fighting-"

"I figured that when I got here and found one of my boys sprawled on the deck." Came the dry reply. "Though I thought your _oh so smart_ plan was to go after Whitebeard, Ace?"

"Blond bastard insulted me." Cora-san's hands had moved onto his back, rubbing firm but gentle circles into the twitching muscles above and below the wings. He made a half moan noise.

"And you got your ass handed to you."

"Cheats."

Cora-san chuckled, knowing exactly what he meant. "It's a mythical zoan devil fruit. The blond bastard you decided to pick a fight with is a phoenix. Which means he literally _can't be hurt_ by normal means, you moron."

That was something Cora-san would have no doubt explained to him if he had waited like they had originally decided before going to 'talk' to the Whitebeard Pirates. Ace groaned into the deck with embarrassment.

"Is he going to be alright, Rocinante?" Whitebeard spoke, a large shadow covering Ace's prone form and causing the teen to shudder. He didn't like being vulnerable like this, and it would be a few more minutes before he'd feel able to stand, he was sure. Forget pulling his wings in.

"Aside from his pride, yeah." Cora-san supplied, tucking the large appendages closer to the teen's body. "I'd have prefered it if you _hadn't_ beaten the crap out of one of my boys."

"The brat said he was here to challenge me." He could _hear_ the old geezer's amusement and Ace growled low in his throat, earning a pop on the head.

"That sounds like him." Cora-san stood, leaving Ace feeling vulnerable again until the man actually stood over him. Some of the tension eased out of the teen, knowing he wasn't being abandoned. "Whitebeard-No, Newgate." Cora-san began, "Meet Ace. He's got a bit of a temper for a hot-headed idiot."

"We noticed, yoi." The damn blond sounded amused.

"The 'orange one' I take it?" Someone else asked, slipper-like shoes coming into view.

Wings twitched, "I got a name, Asshole." He didn't see Cora-san's hasty headshake and mouthed, 'I'll explain later.'

What he did see next was a cheery face down as close to the deck as it could go. "Ah, don't be like that, kiddo. We didn't know your names, so we had to come up with something. Rocinante wouldn't tell us shit, so all we had to go off of was a few feathers we found in that pathetic boat of his."

"You were on our boat?" Ace growled out. It would have been more threatening if he wasn't laying down.

"Patching sails and boards so the fool didn't sink is more like." A different voice answered. Turning his head he saw the bottom of a robe. "I'm Izo, the idiot next to you is Thatch. Forgive me for not getting down, but kimonos are unforgiving in that way."

"Whatever." Ace groused. What the hell was a kimono anyway? "Ace. And stop calling him Rocinante. His name is _Corazon_."

"It shortened better." Cora-san explained.

"Gahahahaha I see! Tell me, then, Corazon, why are you two on my ship?"

"Ace was looking to join up with you possibly-"  
"HEY!" Lies, all lies! Even if he was thinking maybe he could learn a thing or two from them now…

"And I figured I'd tag along and stop him from getting himself killed with that mouth of his."

"What about his attitude?"

"I can't do miracles."


	2. Chapter 2

**LAW**

Law tried not to fidget as the large ship came into view. Though it had been Shanks' idea for the young man to accompany his crew for a while, the eldest of the Winged Ds was not exactly thrilled by the idea. Oh, it was true enough he felt something of a tiny bond towards the red haired captain. Knowing the man had saved his youngest brother before they'd ever even got to meet would do that to a guy. Not to mention Shanks wasn't phased _at all_ by the wings. He'd been taking it in stride. That didn't mean his crew was going to, however.

Law had never wished for the ability to truly _fly_ then he did the moment the small skiff he and Shanks were on bumped against the hull of the _Red Force_. He wasn't afraid per se, but flying to avoid attacks would be nice. It wasn't like he'd ever make it to land flying but as he and Sabo had surmised that Fight or Flight responses were higher in Winged Ds. Possibly Ds in general, given how ornery the few Ds they knew of were. So his desire to avoid a potential conflict was understandable as he knew the moment that conflict reared its ugly head he would be more than ready to take on the whole crew, consequences be damned. Law's jaw clenched as he looked up at the massive ship. He almost didn't notice Shanks when the man crossed the deck, a wide grin on his face at the thought of being reunited with his crew. One that softened upon looking at the young man he was asking to trust him -his crew.

The Yonko bumped his hip against the smaller male, drawing his attention. "I'll go up first. Take your time, lad. No one is going to make you do anything you don't want to."

"As if you could." Law grumped to himself as he watched Shanks scale the ladder that had been thrown down with way more ease a man with one arm had any right to do. Still, he didn't follow right away. Not even when Shanks had disappeared from view. Instead he once more adjusted the ties on the small rucksack with his meager possessions in it. Running a hand over the barely noticeable lump that was hidden under his shirt, he reminded himself why he was doing this. He held onto the small bundle of four contour feathers still tied to a sturdy cord around his neck and took a deep breath. One for each of the D brothers -Sabo's idea of course. Sentimental as he could be. Luffy wasn't about to let Cora-san feel left out, though perhaps he should have _asked_ before cutting off the tails of the man's hat for the cords. Still, as stupid as it was… the feel of those feathers gave him the courage to swing himself up onto the ladder and start the climb.

The deck was crowded, men swarming around their Captain, obviously happy to have him back in one piece. Law was more than happy to fade in the background once he realized no one had noticed him. Not that they had expected there to be a second person on the skiff. Instead he took the opportunity to watch how the crew interacted. The last band of Pirates he had associated with was a group he firmly put out of his mind. Cora-san had stressed most Pirates were different from his brother's crew and that he should give them a chance. They seemed friendly enough from his standpoint, which he expected to change when they noticed him.

"Captain! You sure were gone for a while!"

"Cut the man some slack. Not every day you run into an old friend, Rockstar." The man who spoke was a little taller than the others, long salt-and-pepper hair pulled back in a tight pony tail. He grinned around a lit cigarette, one arm draped over the butt of a gun as he reached out with his other. "Shanks."

"Benn! You bastards behave without me?"

"Even better than when you're here." Benn laughed at the exaggerated pout Shanks pulled before his expression morphed into something more predatory. Law felt an involuntary shiver and hunched down. "You hit a bit of trouble?"

The redhead blinked, hand still clasped in his friends. "No, why?"

"Heard rumors that both the Whitebeards were spotted at Shambody and Doflamingo." The crew growled dangerously and Benn's voice lost its friendly tone. "And now your hat's gone."

He dropped Shanks hand as the redhead ran it over the place the hat use to rest. "Ah about that…" He waved Law forward. "I'd like to introduce you all to Law. Law, everyone. Everyone, Law. He'll be traveling with us for a while." Law glared down at the deck, promising himself revenge for this. He _didn't like_ being the center of attention.

At length a crewman with blond dreadlocks spoke up, displeasure clear across his face at the thought of a teen on their ship. Law would be happy to assure him the feeling was mutual. "Shanks, are you sure it's such a good idea to be taking in a… A brat?" He looked away, "I know you miss the little anchor and this guy Law might look a _bit_ like him around the edges, but you can't go replacing him. No offense kid."

"Offense taken." Law frowned at him. It _was_ insulting, but more so to once again be compared Luffy. They weren't _that_ similar.

"I have it on the best authority that this is what Luffy would want." Shanks grinned widely, winking at the grumpy teen who rolled his eyes in response.

"On whose authority?" Benn loomed in.

"Why the _best."_ Shanks smiled wider, "His little brother."

"Need I remind you _again_ that I'm the eldest? They're all my 'little brothers' as it were."

"You have a point." The playful Captain turned to his crew, "His _youngest_ brother."

Benn looked like he had a headache. "So because some little shit head kid _told_ you to, you let this brat on board." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "And lost your hat. Does this kid have a lead for us or something?"

"I don't see why you'd think I'd have information on that scumbag pretending to be a Pirate. You already know he's a monster: anything I could tell you is a decade old and if you weren't aware of it… Well. There's no reason to bring up the past." Law rolled his shoulder, releasing some of the tension, "but I can tell you this fool forced his stupid hat on my youngest brother. So it is not _lost_. He'll get it back." Though what he had said was meant as a comfort of sorts it apparently had the opposite effect. The teen supposed it might have something to do with how out of practice he was at interacting with people outside his small family. Given the slight smile and headshake Shanks gave him the older man appreciated the help at any rate. Why he didn't just tell them Luffy was alive was a mystery to _him_ but this was supposed to be 'more fun'. It seemed like an annoying pain in the ass. Wasn't he the Captain? Why were they questioning him? Doflamingo would _never_ have tolerated such insubordination… Suddenly it was all just too much for the young man. There were too many people looking at him and he felt trapped on top of alone. He scowled at them all before pushing his way through and clamboring into the rigging on the main mast. It wasn't as good as a tree, but it was _up_ and he needed to get away for a bit.

"Oy! You just can't go climbing that, brat!"

"Leave him alone, Roo. He's not hurting anything."

"He could fall."

"Trust me, he won't." There was humor in Shank's voice, even as he pitched it louder for Law to hear clearly. "Don't forget to come down later to eat! I still need to show you where you'll be bunking!"

The teen waved him off, wondering again why he'd agreed to this.


	3. Chapter 3

**SABO**

The East Blue was supposedly the weakest of the Seas, so Sabo felt that it was a good place for Luffy to learn to fly free as it were. It wasn't exactly that he didn't think Luffy was strong enough to manage on his own, though. Far from it; Luffy had survived Doflamingo -he could survive anything the seas threw at him, especially if the kid found a crew to back him. That was where the problem lay, though. Luffy had been quick enough to warm up to Cora-san, but once their small family had landed on Sanbondy they'd realized that Luffy could easily be as wary as his older brothers when it came to strangers. Not exactly a bad thing, but a bit of a problem when he refused to go and even say 'hi' to anyone without one of his brothers or Cora-san near. With one nearby he was fearless, going up to the worst sorts with a happy smile and actually having to be pulled away more than once. To think they'd never have noticed if Shanks hadn't insisted on taking him to that theme park…. Sabo had been all set to part ways at Loguetown, for crying out loud! He'd have abandoned his brother in a crowded place _full_ of Marines and possibly dangerous Pirates because somehow he'd thought Luffy was still the same as he was when they were kids.

Foolish. No, now he'd seen the truth of the matter and he wasn't going to let Luffy out of his sight until he'd found someone to trust at his back. At least for a little while…. "I can't sail with him forever." Sabo muttered under his breath for the thousandth time as their small ship approached an island, the third one so far they'd stopped at. "Even if I want too…"

"LAND! Sabo! Look! Land! Land land land land! Adventure! Ah! Maybe they have food?" Luffy cheered, dancing around him, "MEAT!"

He caught the younger teen in a headlock as he darted past, earning a squeak of protest. "I doubt they'll have enough to feed _your_ bottomless pit!" He teased, knocking off the straw hat to rub his knuckles on the top of Luffy's skull. "All you think about is food."

"Nu-uh! I think about _adventure_ too!" Luffy grinned, wings thumping against Sabo's side in a bid at freedom. It was wonderful to see him so relaxed, even if it might be the last time in a long while Luffy got to show his wings. The teen seemed to pick up on the blond's thoughts, wings drooping. "I'm… I'm gonna find people I can trust Sabo, I promise."

"I know. I just worry. It's hard not to with a little brother like you."

"Yeah, well… I worry about you guys, too!" Luffy huffed. It was a lie, but a cute one. Made more endearing because Sabo _knew_ Luffy had the utmost faith in all of them. He wouldn't worry because he saw no need, and yet Luffy was completely all right with all of them worrying about him. As long as they didn't hover.

"Sure you do, brat. Now come on, let's dock and see what we can scare up to eat around here. And remember Lu, no wings. Not until you have a crew that can watch your back, all right?"

The bright red wings flapped once before receding wordlessly as the young Pirate-to-be nodded, focused on the rigging he was working. Before long their small boat was bumping up against the deck, securely tied while the two of them stared at the empty town in shock. It was a mess, buildings knocked to the side or outright crushed and not a person in sight. It was enough to make Sabo want to herd Luffy back onto the stupid little boat and sail directly to the next island. Luffy, of course, had other ideas. This was a big mystery, and _of course_ Luffy just _had_ to investigate it. Which meant following that internal tug that would lead them to people. Normally Sabo'd take advantage of the fact that Luffy couldn't feel that tug -the feeling Cora-san called _Haki_ -reliably yet. Right now he had a feeling the kid would run all over looking for whatever had caused this and running into something potentially dangerous would be a disaster. Especially if it was Luffy.

So Sabo found himself half leading and half dragging Luffy along a worn path towards the sounds of shouting. In the distance they could just see a crowd gathered at the wall of what could only be described as the gaudiest castle Sabo had ever seen. "Hey, it looks like that building from the themepark." Luffy commented, head cocked to the side, "The one Shanks took me to. Why's that, Sabo?"

"Huh, what do you know. It kind of does." Sabo agreed, cocking his head to the side as well. It wasn't an exact match, but it was close. "Maybe whoever lives here is a fan?"

"Let's go ask!" And there he went….

It looked like the whole town was there at the gates, or more aptly, what was left of the gates. Someone had cut right through them. None of the people were going in, despite the fact that they were all focused intently on whatever was going on inside the walls. It sounded like a fight to Sabo, and a quick glance between the press of bodies showed him a man wielding three swords holding his ground against something. How the hell he could wield the three swords effectively when one was in his mouth was beyond him, but Sabo'd always heard the Seas were full of strange things. "What the hell is going on here?"

"These fools challenged Arlong!"

He blinked. "Right. And which one is Arlong?"

"Don't you know anything?" A man reached out and grabbed his arm, dragging him till Sabo saw what could only be a shark type Fishman. " _That's_ Arlong, you fool!" the man turned to glare at him, displaying an impressive set of scars on his face before his eyes widened in surprise. "You're not from around here."

"Nope! Mr, your face looks cool! What happened to it?" Luffy grinned, turning back to the fight.

"Arlong. He's been ruling over this island for years now. No one can fight him! He took our Nami from us and this is the last straw! If these boys can't stop him…" The man's eyes became hard, "We'll all die trying."

"Why'd he do something like that?" Luffy asked, _sounding_ innocent. Sabo could see the tension in his back though.

"Because he's a Fishman. He hates Humans. He's a monster." While Sabo had no doubt that from this man's perspective all three facts were true, the way he said it sounded like it was a forgone conclusion. He might have been talking about _this_ particular Fishman -but he and his brothers had heard the same thing about Winged Ds. So he wasn't surprised when Luffy pushed his way through the crowd. Instead he just made sure his hat was firmly on his head and followed, wanting to get to the bottom of this.

"Zoro! Look out!" They both squeezed through the front of the crowd, dodging grasping hands right as the man with three swords and green hair rolled to the left of an attack that would have taken off his arm. The blue shark Fishman spat out some rubble and sneered at him.

"Oiy!" Why are you fighting?" Luffy called in the momentary break. Both fighters turned to look at him incredulously.

Sabo coughed, twirling his staff idilly and resting it on his shoulder, "What he means is why is _Arlong_ fighting. We already got the whole 'Arlong is an evil Fishman who hates Humans and is a monster who rules the island' thing."

Arlong _laughed_ at them, and Sabo frowned. "Of course I rule this island! It's my right! Because Humans are weak! They're scum! Fishman are superior in every way!"

The blond looked at Luffy and raised an eyebrow. It was his brother's call because they were there to find Luffy some crewmembers but personally Sabo would want to punch this guy in the face. Humans being weaker than Fishman or not didn't give _Fishman_ the right to rule them or vise versa. It'd just breed hate and more people would die. And what was a Fishman doing all the way out in the East Blue anyway? Whatever bone this guy had to pick with Humans, it didn't say much of him that he'd run all the way _here_ to do it. A place where most Humans had never even _heard_ of Fishman.

Luffy scowled at the Fishman, obviously reaching much the same conclusions. Or at least getting the same impressions. "I don't like you." He told Arlong.

"Like I care what a _Human_ thinks of me?"

"Sabo, I'm gonna beat him up."

"Remember he has a hostage." They'd said something about a 'Nami', right?

"Oh, I'm so scared. Listen brat, if the great Roanoa Zoro can't hurt me, what the hell do you think you can do against m-"

"Gum gum pistol!" A fist shot out and slammed right into that smug face.

When Sabo noticed a few other fishmen make a move to rush his daring little brother he stepped forward, tisking. "Nah uh uh. I'll be your opponent."

"D-d-don't l-l-leave me o-o-out!" Came a quaking voice. Blinking in surprise he saw a teen with an incredibly long noise hiding behind a pillar armed with a slingshot.

"Are you on their side?"

"NO! Y-yours I guess?"

"Ah. Pleasure to work with you then."

"Like-lookout!"

A quick sidestep and flick had his staff jammed into the gut of the Fishman who'd tried to rush him just as a pellet slammed into the guy's face. "Thank you."

"Is your friend going to be alright?" The one called Zoro asked, amazingly holding his own against a Fishman with eight arms.

"Focus on me!" The octopus man shouted.

"Sorry about this. He doesn't like bullies. My brother'll let us know if he needs help."

"I'll focus on you when you give me _reason_ to!" Zoro's smile was feral. Sabo liked the guy already. He was also an impressive swordsman. And the other guy seemed trustworthy, if a little timid. "It's fine as long as you two don't get in our way."

A quick glance showed Luffy had disappeared from sight. Sabo wasn't too worried, Luffy was stronger than he looked and he was sure that his brother would be able to win against the Fishman or at the very least hold out until Sabo could back him up. Though maybe he should let these two do it. Already he could picture them traveling with his brother. "Not to worry -" Arlong went crashing through a wall and slammed into the ground. Sabo winced slightly in sympathy, "I think Luffy and I can handle ourselves."

" _You_! _You_ should know what I'm talking about-! A D-" a fist collided with the pointed nose, crunching it and knocking the Fishman out as Luffy strode toward, a redhead teen girl following in his wake with tears running down her face.

"I don't wanna hear that from you! Locking people up is wrong! People are supposed to be free! It doesn't matter _what_ kind of people they are, I don't care! Fishman, Human, D, none of that matters to me! What matters is you made her cry! Doing that makes you no better than scum!"

That told him more than anything that his brother had seen something that had reminded him too much of what Doflamingo had done to them. For that, he could forgive the obvious fact Luffy had shown his wings. The poor girl, Nami he supposed, looked shocked. He'd have to talk to her to get a better feel of it, but if Luffy protected her he had a feeling his little brother wasn't going to be letting her out of his sight for a while. Too bad for her if she wanted to stay on the island.

"A-Arlong has been defeated?! Retreat!" The few Fishman left turned tail and ran, grabbing their fallen comrades and diving into the water. The elder D glared at their retreating form, not liking the idea of word getting out about Luffy so soon. Maybe he'd have to go after _them_ if he could get these guys to keep an eye on Luffy for at least a little while.

"Cowards." Zoro bit out.

"I'm alright with that! They were monsters!" The long nosed one said. Sabo glared at him and he swallowed convulsively, "They were crazy strong, though! I can see why the villagers were scared. Not that I was…"

"Just because someone is strong doesn't make them a monster." The blond snapped.

"No, but what they did here makes them monsters." Zoro replied, sheathing his swords. Sabo nodded in concession as Zoro turned his attention to Luffy. The teen was warily watching the girl, shoulders tense. "Hey kid! Good job."

Wide dark eyes fixed on Zoro and Luffy tugged on the hem of his shirt. He glanced at his brother and Sabo smiled encouragingly. "You, too. Ah. I'm Luffy. That's my brother, Sabo."

"I'm Roronoa Zoro, and this is Usopp. Nami, you alright?"

"F-fine!" She yelped, rubbing her eyes and smiling brightly. "Thanks for saving me, Luffy."

The teen frowned, "They'd have saved you without me. But I'm glad you're free now. We should go somewhere."

"Ehhh?!"

Sabo laughed at her shocked expression, having predicted it. Still no reason ask them here. He'd bribe them with food first. "Luffy's right. Let's go get something to eat. Then we can talk."

The other three shared a look before warily following after him. Before long Nami took the lead, taking them down a small path to an orange grove. In the middle of it there was a house that had seen better days, but it was still better then the hut on the island they grew up on. "Namiko I'm home." When there was no answer Nami shrugged, "Guess she's still with the villagers. Make yourselves at home…"

"Hey Sabo! Look! _Beds_! Real beds! How cool!"

"You've never seen beds before?" Whatever nervousness she'd still felt over seeing that Luffy was a winged D hadn't gone away, but it had faded. It was hard to be afraid of someone so excited about beds, Sabo guessed.

"Not since… A really really long time."

"About a decade." Sabo supplied for his brother. He met Nami's eyes. "Circumstances meant we had to live in harsh conditions." He saw the moment she understood.

"So what brings you to Kokoyashi?" Zoro asked after the silence had stretched on long enough for Luffy to come padding back into the main room and flop into Sabo's lap.

Picking up an orange Sabo shrugged, "Nothing in particular. Supplies I suppose. And a crew or at the least companions willing to travel with Luffy for a while. You?"

The brothers were treated to a tale, much more detailed, of exactly what Arlong had been doing here. A story of how three friends brought together by chance, and how two refused to abandon the third to her fate. They were exactly the type he'd want to travel with his brother. Except for the whole 'hating Pirates' thing. "Luffy, you should have hit him harder."

"I see him again, I will." His brother growled. "He's a _bad_ Pirate."

"There are no _good_ Pirates!" Nami protested.

"Luffy here wants to be a Pirate." Sabo shrugged.

"Pirate King!"

All three new possible friends tensed and Sabo spoke quickly. "Pirates can be a mixed bag, I know. So you can see why I couldn't just let my brother go sailing off alone, right?"

"Why a Pirate?" Zoro asked after a long pause.

Usopp nodded in agreement, "Yeah! With strength like yours you could be a first class bounty hunter or even a Marine-"

"No! No Marines!" Luffy snapped, curling in on himself a bit, "I wanna be _free_. Marines aren't free. If I'm a Pirate I can be free, and I can't get in trouble for freeing other people because I'm _already_ in trouble."

Nami chewed on her lip as Sabo watched her. He had a feeling she would be the deciding factor, especially after what had just happened. When she spoke he could hear her working it over in her head. "So, it's not about the treasure?"

"Nope. But treasure's nice if you got it."

"Attacking people?"

"Why would I do that unless they attack me?" Luffy blinked, "Or really piss me off. Like that Arlong guy."

"It's _just_ about being free?"

"And adventures! I love adventures! They're fun and you meet new people. Like you guys."

"... That's a weird idea about Pirates."

Sabo shrugged. "The Yonko Shanks seems to have the same idea; it's where Luffy got his from. And Whitebeard's focus is more on his family than causing mayhem. Different crews focus on different things. The Marines and the World Government make sure we all only hear about the bad parts. Watch, what happened here today will be turned into two rival crews that destroyed an island. Nothing will be said of the state of things _before_ we got here."

"He's got a point." Zoro said around his drink. Closing his eyes he spoke, "You're looking for us to travel with you for a while?"

Luffy tensed and Sabo rubbed his head, "Not me, Luffy. Look. I'm not asking you to be his crew or anything. I get you might not want to be Pirates and that's fine. He just needs people he can trust - that _I_ can trust - to travel with him till he finds a crew. I can't do that for him."

"Sabo has his own dream." Luffy spoke, looking down. "He just came with me because I'm the youngest 'nd he worried."

"To be fair I worry about Ace and Law too, but they're older than me so I couldn't exactly _follow_ them. Luffy got out voted." He grinned.

"You guys don't have to come." Lu turned to look at Sabo, "I'm strong; I'll be fine on my own. I'll find a crew …eventually."

"Gesh like you're going to get rid of us _that_ easily." Nami cut in, a slight blush on her cheeks. "I- _we_ -owe you one. So we'll sail with you for a bit." Her sheepish look turned to a glare. "But that doesn't mean we're going to be Pirates with you!"

"Right!" Luffy nodded beaming. Sabo could tell he'd already made up his mind. "You're my crew!"

" _Temporary_ _traveling companions!"_

"That's what I said."

Sabo just wondered how long it was going to take for the others to realize that they were going to be Pirates one way or another traveling with a Winged D. He'd warn them, but where was the fun in that?


	4. Chapter 4

**Marco**

"Where's the brat, yoi?"

Thatch shrugged, not looking up from the rope he was splicing. "Hell if I know. Why? He not with Ri-I mean Corazon?"

"Seeing that Corazon is busy with Izo and Pops, no. The brat isn't anywhere in sight." And he hadn't been in sight for the last few hours or so. It was making Marco nervous.

"You try looking with _haki_?"

Marco snorted. "Have _you_ tried looking for him that way? I don't know how the little shit does it, but it's like looking for a leaf in in forest. It'd take less time to search the whole damn ship."

His brother paused before looking up in surprise. "Damn. That _is_ impressive." He'd obviously just tried to prove Marco wrong. The blond rolled his eyes. "Wonder if it's because he's a Winged D. Or maybe something Cora taught them?"

"Corazon said he had nothing to do with it, yoi. He _also_ said all four brats can do it and would frequently use _haki_ to play hide and seek."

The other let out a low whistle. "I'll say it again. _Damn_. Good luck finding the kid. Hell, Marco. I can't even _imagine_ being so bored that learning _haki_ to play _tag_ would just _happen_. Poor tykes."

"Better bored then dead." Marco reminded him before turning away to go hunt down Ace. He agreed, though. Even before Corazon's talk with Pops and the Commanders he'd felt more than a little twinge of sympathy for the four Winged D boys the man had taken in. They'd spent nearly a decade confined to a small island that was barely more than a sandbar with Corazon acting as both their protector and contact to the outside world. A precarious position, but necessary when Doflamingo was actively hunting Ds -Winged ones in particular. Winged Ds, who even under normal circumstances rarely made it past childhood, thanks to the malicious lies of the World Government.

Corazon hadn't told them much, but he'd told them enough to give Pops reason to want Ace as his son. Hell, he'd take all four and the Commanders would back him. No kid should have to suffer like they had, their very lives threatened just for existing. The real monsters where those that had harmed the four, in Marco's eyes. It didn't matter how he felt about it, though. Ace at least still viewed them all with a wary distrust that was brought home to him when he rounded the corner to the upper aft deck to a pair of distrustful eyes watching him.

The wary look was quickly replaced by a glare and Marco sighed. His own blue eyes took in the ruffled wings, one that was partially bent at an awkward angle in front of the teen. "What the hell do you want?" Ace snapped.

"No one has seen you in a couple hours. I was worried you fell in, yoi."

"Well, I'm fine! So go away!" If anything Ace glared harder at him, the one wing he wasn't holding rising up and back to mantle behind him.

Marco ignored him of course. It was obvious the brat was trying to preen and failing. If he had been doing all right on his own the Pirate wouldn't have hesitated to leave; Ace for whatever reason seemed to hate Marco and the blond didn't want to exacerbate the situation. Approaching slowly he held out his hands, "Like hell I'm gonna leave. Not when you need help, b-Ace." He caught himself.

"I-I don't need help."

"Your feathers are sticking up, yoi." He pointed out drolly.

"I don't need help from _you_." The teen specified with a hiss.

Marco paused, only a few feet away now. Close enough he could easily reach out and touch those soft feathers and fix them. He didn't though. "Why do you hate me?" He asked. "Look, if this is about the fight -"

"It's not."

"Then _why_?" Because that was the only thing Marco could think of.

Grey eyes blinked at him in surprise as the riotous orange wing lowered. "You can fly."

"So?"

"So?!" Ace let out a huff, " _So we can't_ you moron!"

He fought the smirk that tugged at his lips. _So that's it. The brat's jealous. Worried, too, I bet._ "Ace, you're too young to fly." He said as gently as he could.

"You don't _know_ that!"

"Yes, I do, yoi." Noticing the wing droop further he tentatively reached out and plucked a bit of fluff sticking out. When the teen didn't protest he ran his hand between the feathers.

"How do you know that? What if-"

"We had a brother. His name was Teach, and he was a Winged D like yourself." Marco closed his eyes against the pain. He missed the large generally jolly man. Now though, whenever he thought of him, part of him recalled the broken form in the surf. It hurt. Ace didn't ask what had happened to him, and Marco had a moment of sick dread wondering if he already knew somehow. He pushed the thought away. "He could fly, and he was a _big_ man. But it took him till his mid twenties, yoi."

By this point Ace was combing his finger through his other wing, the occasional feather drifting free on the wind. "So Law's gonna get into the sky first, huh? The whole devil fruit thing… It won't affect it? Because Luffy, he has _really_ soft feathers and Law thinks it's because he ate the fruit so young and it'll just _kill him_ if he-"

"It won't matter, yoi." Marco cut him off, moving around behind Ace to work on the base of the wings and catching how the teen tensed. "I won't hurt you, yoi."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Let me know if you need me to stop." Given the number of lose feathers near the base of the wings he assumed Ace was molting. That had to be annoying for the teen. "Think about it though. When the D were still a large clan, you wouldn't want the kids just flying the coop."

Ace groaned, but relaxed at the bad joke. "That was horrible."

"True though."

"But then… Why do we get our wings so young?"

"Well, you still need to build up the muscles for them, yoi. Also to get used to them, yoi. I'm sure you and your brothers can already glide," a nod, "which would have been fine long ago."

"You mean before that stupid war."

"Yes. Unfortunately, you're stuck still growing."

"It's not fair." Ace huffed.

Marco sighed, "No, it's not. Remember that _most_ Winged Ds don't even survive until their late teens though. At least you're going to live long enough to fly. Much longer, if I have any say in it, yoi."

Grey eyes met his over an orange wingblade. Surprise was evident in the way the eyebrows went up as Ace studied him. Marco held his gaze steadily, meaning every word he had said. At long last the teen relaxed completely against him. "Thanks, Marco."


	5. Chapter 5

**Benn**

The brat was up in the crow's nest again, he just knew it. Whenever they didn't know where to find the little shit that was generally the place he'd be. That, or in the very bowels of the Red Force. Of course, _this time_ , he was going to be in _quite_ a bit of trouble when Benn got up there. The Opi Opi no Mi -the very devil fruit that the crew had risked life and limb to raid a Marine base for -was currently missing. Their Captain of course wasn't worried. For whatever reason Shanks had deemed the brat trustworthy, and while Benn didn't often question his Captain's judgement on such serious matters, in this he couldn't help but wonder.

Nothing seemed to add up since Shanks had left them to visit Rayleigh. Not only had he come back with Law, but he was missing his hat. The hat he hadn't let out of his sight in nearly ten years since Garp had returned it to him. The hat he had once, long ago, given to a lonely little boy with big dreams of being Pirate King. Benn grit his teeth and started the climb up to the crow's nest, his mind's eye seeing little Luffy, face bright and eager for attention. The little boy they'd left behind for his own good because the Grand Line was no place for a child -let alone a Winged D child! - only to learn later that trouble had found him. A life cut tragically short, it was hard to see how anyone would have looked at the little idiot and seen any sort of monster.

That had been almost a decade ago though. A decade of sailing with Shanks, passingly looking for the man who'd claimed such a young life. A promise sworn on the very hat given to the boy ...and Shanks had _somehow_ misplaced the hat and instead come back with a surly teen. One who was right now sitting on the very edge of the crow's nest, legs dangling over. Benn scrambled over the low wall, ignoring the devil fruit on the rail as he felt his mouth go dry as a stiff breeze whipped his hair back. "You're not going to jump, are you, brat?"

Watching those shoulders tense, he felt his heart rate pick up, worried that the kid really _was_ going to jump. "I have a name. It's Law. It's been over a month, my brothers would take offense to you not using it."

"Sorry, you're right. Law." He moved slowly, as if dealing with a wild animal. "What are you doing up here, Law?"

"Tests." There was the slight sound of paper rustling over the wind, so faint Benn almost didn't hear it, but he did see the notebook the teen held open over his head. "On the fruit. It's buoyant in fresh water. The outside is resistant to nicks. Smells faintly sweet. Outside tastes waxy when licked. When dropped from a height of five, ten and fifteen feet it bounces. No bruising evident." Grey eyes glanced at him as the notebook was carelessly flicked over his shoulder. Benn managed to catch it. "Hardy."

The notebook contained more 'tests', and Benn began to wonder just how often the fruit had gone missing in the last month. And if their Captain knew. He suspected Shanks did. "So you took it up here to….?"

"Drop it onto the deck." The teen admitted. "But it's windier than I was anticipating and I suspect it will end up in the ocean. So I suppose I'll have to go with plan B."

"That better be returning it to the Captain, Law." Benn growled out.

The teen sighed, leaning forward into the wind and Benn took an abortive step forward. "The Opi Opi no Mi makes you a target, you know."

"That would be why the Captain sent us after it." Benn admitted easily. It was bait for a trap. Lure the devil in and hopefully finish the bastard off, since the Marines couldn't touch him. He didn't think to question how Law knew this; it had been obvious since the moment the teen had stepped aboard the Red Force he knew something of Doflamingo. Probably one of the many wronged by the man.

Law stood then, balancing on the narrow rail with a grace surprising in the lanky teen as he turned to face Benn. His eyes were haunted looking, the dark circles under them standing out more than usual as he stared hard at the older Pirate. "You'll lose."

"No, we won't. Captain is stronger than you think." Benn promised He was suddenly sure that it was _imperative_ Law believed him -that he felt safe here. A strong wind caused the Jolly Roger flag above them to snap fully open, and Benn readied himself to lunge for the boy if he jumped. "We're not the crew of a Yonko for nothing." The teen snorted, body swaying. "Look, just -come down from there. We'll talk this over, alright Law? If you don't feel safe here, we'll drop you off somewhere. I swear to it on our flag."

"Somehow I doubt your Captain will agree."

"My Captain can jump into the sea then." Benn bit back, "He's _confused_ , kid. He looks at you, and he sees someone he lost a long time ago, and - KID!" The crow's nest lurched in the wind and Law lost his precarious footing, falling backwards before Benn could even think to reach out for him. The look of calm acceptance in those dark tired eyes seared into his brain even as he ran to the edge of the rail and looked down towards the deck. He expected to see the boy's broken body on the deck, possibly alive if he was either really lucky or unlucky depending how he fell. Instead there was nothing.

A rustling sound to his left had him turning, thinking maybe Law had gotten caught in the rigging. Instead what he saw shocked him. The teen crouched on the rail near him, resting on the balls of his feet as his right hand held onto his hat and his left cradled the devil fruit. "Luffy and I," The teen said, flaring a black and yellow wing into the wind, "Look _nothing_ alike." The wing pulled close, feathers moving in the stiff wind. "His eyes are brown. Mine are grey. His wings are red. Mine, as you can see, are black and yellow."

Benn stared at the teen in shock as he hopped off the rail back into the crow's nest. "You-you're a -" the droll stare stopped him. Taking a calming breath Benn pinched the bridge of his nose as things started to fit together like the brat's love of heights. Shanks had to know. Why else let the kid on board? He was _still_ a kid, too… and to know about Doflamingo meant somehow he'd survived a run in with the man… He froze, looking up at the teen in time to see him bite into the fruit and make a disgusted face. There'd be hell to pay for that later, but that wasn't important now. "Luffy's alive?"

" _Yes_ , my youngest brother is alive." The teen replied, finishing the fruit. "That is horrible. Absolutely horrible."

"So I've heard." A smile tugged at the Pirate's lips before fading, "Luffy didn't have any siblings."

Law rolled his eyes, "Wrong. He has three older brothers. Myself, Ace, and Sabo. I imagine by now Sabo's found _someone_ trustworthy enough to leave Luffy in the care of …." The second half seemed to be more to himself as he touched his chest slightly.

That meant there were possibly two other Winged Ds if Law was to be believed. Shanks… Shanks knew! His sudden good mood, the loss of his hat and his trust of Law. He must have run into all of them somehow. Part of Benn was enraged that his best friend and Captain didn't trust him enough to tell him the truth. The other part saw the way Law held himself and understood completely. The teen was on edge and ready to jump into the wind at a moment's notice, wings held so tense they were quivering. He couldn't even begin to imagine how Luffy had survived, or what he had gone through, but he could easily understand how hard it was for Law to continue to stand there and just _talk_ to him. Benn still remembered how frightened Luffy had sounded as a child when they'd discovered he was a Winged D, thinking he was a monster. That fear of rejection was obviously shared by his eldest brother at least. He offered his best smile. "I'm so glad you survived, Law."

Grey eyes narrowed. "You don't even know me. Or like me."

"I didn't like Shanks at first, either." Benn admitted, "But I'm sure you'll grow on me. I don't have to know you to be happy you're alive."

"...Because of Luffy."

"No, because of you. Because _you_ survived hell, kid. It makes me proud to know you. And yeah, maybe I am a little glad Luffy has someone like you to look up to, but he wouldn't have that if you hadn't survived, right?"

Those large wings shifted slightly, but stopped shaking, and he counted it as a win. "I guess. Honestly, he's _such_ a pain in the ass sometimes though."


	6. Chapter 6

**Zoro**

"I'm gonna go explore!" Luffy cheered, throwing both fists into the air with the usual exuberance Zoro had come to expect from the guy after traveling with him for a few months now.

Usopp looked at the slightly younger teen like he'd lost his mind, "Weren't you already here with your brother though?"

Luffy didn't lose his smile, instead he shrugged, "Sabo didn't wanna split up yet, so we didn't really stop. He said he was afraid of me running off. Shihihihi." The smile fell slightly, and Zoro felt like kicking something. Maybe _The Going Merry._ Really Nami, though. "Maybe I'll run into a crew. I wanted to see where Roger was executed, anyway."

Nami looked up from where she had been pretending to pour over a map, and Zoro glared at her. She needed to hurry up and make up her mind already! It wasn't like the former Pirate hunter couldn't understand her reluctance to become a Pirate. He easily understood she'd have some reservations about that. Hell, Usopp had those exact same reservations, having nearly lost his whole village to the Black Cat Pirates. Luffy was a different type all together though. The three of them had agreed on that before they'd reached Baratie. He _cared_ too much, was how Usopp had put it. Yeah, he was loud and annoying, selfish and into everything, but he honestly gave a damn about what they said. That meant something to Zoro.

Then Baratie happened. Looking back on it, he supposed he should have seen the signs that there was a little something _off_ about Luffy before they'd arrived at the floating restaurant. He'd quickly realized the teen liked to be in hard to reach places, didn't like his back touched, and was strong. He just hadn't known that it meant he was a _Winged D_ until the idiot had tried to attack Mihawk after the swordsman had defeated him. Everything else going on -all the other little fights, Nami and Usopp fighting off Kreig's men - everything stopped the moment those red wings snapped out as the teen had _roared_ and people just dropped. At the time Zoro had thought it was outrage, and maybe it was a little bit. But seeing the worry in Luffy's eyes as the D stood over him and seeing the way those wings that had looked so strong a moment ago quivered he knew it had been more than a bit of fear. Fear of losing him, his _friend_. He wasn't sure if it was Luffy that stayed Mihawk's hand or his own plea to leave the kid alone and fight _him_ instead. Either way, he had left with a strange smirk on his face.

And people think Winged Ds were monsters.

 _Nami_ still thought they were monsters. He could see it in her eyes when she watched the strawhat-wearing teen sometimes. Her fear that he was somehow worse than Arlong was holding her back from telling him that they'd sail on with him - be his crew. _She_ was holding them back.

"Was Roger like you?" She asked, eyes wary and Zoro resisted the urge to palm his face.

Luffy just cocked his head to the side, "What do you mean?"

"She means, was Roger a… A _Winged D_ too?" Usopp finished in a whisper.

"Nah." The teen shrugged. "No way he could have kept his wings hidden when they executed him like that. Even if he was a cut-wing, they'd have said something after he was dead anyway. Make us seem more like monsters, right?"

Zoro didn't miss the dark look Sanji was giving the back of Usopp's head, and he was sure if the man hadn't had a crush on Nami she'd be receiving the same treatment. Still it didn't stop him from asking, "Cut-wing?"

He regretted it when Luffy paled. "You don't have to answer the shitty Marimo."

"No, it's ok… A cut-wing is when…" He shuddered, "it's when they cut your wings off. To _save_ you or some shit. Sabo said it hurts _a lot_ , and he thinks people probably screw up a lot and kill the Ds they do it to."

"That sounds horrible!" Nami gasped, voicing what they all were thinking. Luffy just offered a one shoulder shrug, reminding Zoro that for all the world painted his people as monsters this was the reality they lived with. No wonder his older brother had been scared to send him off alone.

"Anyway. I wanna see where he died. I'll come back later and get my stuff, ok?" Luffy grinned before jumping down onto the docks.

Sanji waited until he was out of hearing range before he stomped out his cigarette. His visible eye flashed and his shoulders shook with tension. "If Luffy goes, _I_ go." His glared at them all, daring them to challenge him. Zoro was a little shocked, since it would mean leaving his crush. Still, he was relieved that if Luffy was forced to leave, he wasn't going alone.

"What? _Why?!_ " Nami yelped, surprised.

"Because _that idiot_ is gonna need the love-cook more." Zoro cut her off.

"He needs someone to watch his back, that's for sure." Usopp agreed. "Even if he _wasn't_ a - you know- he's the kind of guy who seems like he'd jump into a barrel to survive a whirlpool…"

"Oiy, don't tempt fate." Sanji muttered, "I'm _also_ going because of the way he eats. There's no way he'd remember to eat healthy _or_ in moderation."

"You… Have a point." Nami admitted slowly. All three of the young men watched her closely as she worried her lip, finger running over the map to the grand line. None of them wanted to pressure her, since it was a big decision. If she couldn't move past Luffy being a _Winged D_ , there would be no hope for the budding crew. It would tear them apart eventually. If she could though, if they _all_ could, Zoro thought they actually had a chance. A chance at what, he wasn't sure. He just knew deep inside that they could be amazing if they took that chance.

Who knew how long the taboo stretched, each lost in their own thoughts. Zoro only noticed when it was ended by a laugh. He looked up in surprise to see Nami shaking her head. "He really _would_ be hopeless without us, wouldn't he?" She asked. "I mean, where else is he going to find a marksman, a swordsman, a cook _and_ a navigator who know what he is and don't go running for the Marines?" She grinned at them all. "He's so lucky we put up with him. Honestly."

"Yeah. Such a knucklehead." Usopp agreed.

Sanji lit up a new cigarette, trying to hide a smile no doubt, "A Shitty Captain if there ever was one."

" _Our_ Captain though." Zoro agreed, fingering his new katanas.

"So…. Who's going to tell Luffy?" Usopp asked, moments before a shout echoed along the docks. As one the group turned to see the teen in question being chased by what appeared to be every single Marine in Loguetown. "Luffy?!"

" _I'm going to kill him!_ " Nami swore, "Lower the sails, raise the anchor, let's go let's go let's _go_ , you bastards! LUFFY HURRY UP!"

"Shihihihi! Bye Smoky!" Luffy shouted as his rubbery arms wrapped around the mast, pulling him on deck.

Sanji finished tying the sail down, "Captain on deck!"

"Then we're going!" Nami called out, spinning the wheel hard enough that _Merry_ groaned in protest for a moment as she pulled away.

Zoro walked over to Luffy, who was looking at them all with that unreadable expression he sometimes got. The swordsman smirked, "You really thought we'd let you leave us behind, Captain?"

The way Luffy's face lit up made the tough decision worth it as far as he was concerned. "Sorry. My bad."

"Don't worry about it. How was the platform?"

"Oh. I broke it."

Usopp moaned. "Next time, someone goes with him."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hack**

He'd been on the trail of Arlong ever since he'd heard of his old comrade being somehow defeated in the East Blue. Hack could easily understand how the Fishman had become so embittered towards Humans, for he had been the same way after FisherTiger's death. Still, as time had passed, Hack had been able to move on, finding others - Humans- who were dissatisfied with the way things were. It had taken a long time for him to realize not all Humans were the same, and he'd hoped to teach Arlong that before his old friend got himself killed. Making relations worse in the process. When he'd found out that Arlong had split from the Sun Pirates he'd been surprised, and then very worried when the shark Fishman had moved to the East Blue. More troubling had been the rumors that he had enslaved an island of Humans, something Hack had not been aware of until a few months ago. Then came the job of narrowing down _which_ island in order to get there before those that followed Arlong did something truly unforgivable.

When he'd arrived at Kokoyashi it was obvious he was too late. Much too late. The islanders regarded him with suspicion and women herded their children indoors - just like on Fishman island when Pirates visited. Only two had stood firm, an older man with scars criss crossing his whole body and a young woman with striking tattoos. Surprisingly it had been the woman who'd spoken to him, telling him how his once brother-in-arms had been soundly defeated by a small band of rookie Pirates. They'd shown him the ruins of 'Arlong Park' and told him in no uncertain terms that _they_ would not be subjected to such a life again, by _anyone._ Where Arlong had gone, they couldn't tell him. What they _could_ say was that one of the Pirates, a young man with blond hair and a blue hat, had gone after him. The woman surprised him once again by asking _Hack_ to make sure the boy was all right. The man, who turned out to be the mayor, told him that the blond and his younger brother had been most adamant that they shouldn't judge _all_ Fishman harshly because of what Arlong had done to them. That in some parts of the world _Fishman_ were treated poorly, and while Arlong was a bad Fishman, there were bad _Humans_ out there, too. And good ones.

Hack found himself nodding at those words. Though his face didn't allow for the wide range of expressions Humans could manage he did his best to convey his sorrow over what had happened to their people. If he had but known, he would have come a lot sooner. He was sure Jinbe would have as well. In the end, he left behind most of the funds he had for traveling as a way to make reparations and the promise to find them help. He was sure Dragon-Sama would take up the cause once he learned that the Marines had all but turned their backs on these people in their time of need. In exchange he'd been pointed in the direction the blond had gone.

That had been a month ago, and now here he was looking down at something heartbreaking and horrifying at the same time. Arlong was dead. Or more accurately, he would be the moment Hack got close enough to finish his old ship-brother off without risking harming the boy he was facing. A child who'd chased this sorry excuse for a Pirate to protect his little brother's secret from the sound of it.

"Bwahahahaha! How'd those Humans do it, eh? How'd they tame one?" Arlong swung his sword, the boy dodging out of the way.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

The sharkman sneered, "Are you his _handler_ then? Where is he, hmmm?"

"He's my _brother!_ " The boy darted forward and delivered a blow with his staff that actually managed to knock Arlong back a few steps. The two glared at each other.

"I see. You're one, too. _That's_ how they did it, isn't it little birdy? Cripple one so the other won't fly away." Hack didn't like the sound of that. As quietly and as quickly as he could he darted around the rubble, trying to get closer while Arlong spread his arms in a placating manner. "You should join me! Take your revenge on them! They've already taken your wings-"

"SHUT UP!" The boy snapped, " _Revenge revenge revenge_! Is that _all_ you can think about?! It doesn't _solve_ _anything_! It'd just put my brothers in danger, like your stupid stunt put other _Fishman_ in danger! You moron! You can't change things by just lashing out at people who had _nothing to do with it_!"  
Arlong tensed, whole body radiating murderous rage. "Says who?"

"Says me." Hack replied, appearing behind Arlong so quickly he took the other by surprise. "You've fallen far, my old friend."

"Hack!" He could see it in those naturally cold eyes that the man knew what was coming. They were much too far away from their island to return there for the King's Justice. "They _deserved it_! They all do! For FisherTiger-San!"  
"You know he wouldn't have wanted this."

"My crew…"

"Are absolved. Unless they go after Humans again." He assured Arlong. At those words, any fight that had still been in him went out and he closed his eyes, accepting his fate right before Hack snapped his neck. It was as quick and painless as he could make it - the last kindness for the youth Arlong had once been. A youth who'd cared too much.

When it was done he realized they weren't alone. It was odd, Hack had expected the boy to take the chance and run since Arlong obviously outclassed him. The wary calculating look in those blue eyes told him he'd been wrong. Quite possibly on both accounts. "Are you going to try and kill me now?"

"Why would I do that?" The boy shrugged. "What Arlong did was wrong, but the East Blue is very far away from Fishman Island. It made it hard for anyone to find out." Hack studied the boy, "I heard what you and your brother did. You were very brave."

"Thanks." He didn't miss the way the boy tensed up at his words.

Hack pretended not to notice even as he tried to figure out why. "I'm Hack."

"Sabo."

He was pretty sure most Humans had a family name or a clan name as well. But Sabo didn't offer one. Then it clicked, Arlong's mention of wings. He glanced at Sabo again, taking in his build and comparing it to vague memories of Teach the one time he'd met the Winged D. The build was obviously different, but the stance was the same. There were some other similarities, and if Arlong saw the brother's wings…. it went a long way to explain a lot of Sabo's behavior towards Arlong and now Hack. "Planning on meeting up with your brother now that you've taken care of Arlong?"

Sabo looked away first. "No. I'm not sure really what I'll do yet. But… I couldn't let Arlong go blabbing-" He glanced back at Hack.

"No, I imagine not. If he told other Fishman about you and your brother, you could be in danger." Admittedly there was more than a little bit of bitterness in his voice.

Sabo snorted. "Fishman aren't any different than Humans that way." Hack looked at him in shock. "Look, we've been wronged by Humans, celestials and Fishman. But we've been helped by them, too. So a person's a person in our book. It's just, Luffy's the youngest and he's not ready to be… _out_ yet. None of us are I think. And I didn't want some asshole spilling the beans to the wrong people."

"... How many of there are you?"

"Not enough." The boy answered, frowning. "I wanna change that. I want to make it so other Winged Ds don't have to go through what we did, so more live to see their 10th birthday."

Hack studied the boy in front of him before looking down at Arlong. After a moment he spoke, weighing his words carefully. "Boy, have you ever heard of the Resistance?"


	8. Chapter 8

**GARP**

"Garp-San?" He could feel Coby's worried eyes on him as the young Marine stood at his shoulder. "Garp-San, what's wrong?"

"That _bastard_!" Garp growled out, shoving the offending newspaper article under Coby's nose. "How _dare_ his still be alive when…" Slowly he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

Coby for his part was staring at the article with no small bit of confusion. "Who's Cora?- Doflamingo's _brother?!"_ He yelped.

"A traitor to the Marines, too." Garp told him. "His real name is Rosinate. He was _supposed_ to be our spy against his brother, but he up and vanished. Sengoku figured he'd been found out. If he hadn't- wasn't - he could have _helped_ …! Why isn't he DEAD?" The pink haired young man was silent, not knowing how to offer any more sympathy to Garp though it was obvious what the man was talking about. If Corazon had still been alive and working with Doflamingo, he _should_ have been able to alert the Marines of the man's plan to attack the ship carrying Garp's grandsons all those years ago. That he had was painful, even more so now knowing the man was alive and apparently well. Somehow he'd not only gotten away from his brother, but he'd turned his back on the Marines. Which had come first didn't matter to Garp; in his mind _Corozon_ was at least partially responsible for the death of three innocent children.

"I-It says here that he's not the only new member of the Whitebeard Pirates…" Coby offered, holding out the article.

Garp grudgingly took it. The chances of it having answers were about as slim as him getting revenge on Corazon while the man sailed with Whitebeard. The rat bastard. "Yeah, some stupid rookie going by the name of…. Ace." He blinked and read the passage again.

 _Corozon was seen in the company of Thatch (4th Division Commander) and Marco (1st Division Commander) as well as a new young rookie that seems to have joined the crew. The rookie, called Ace by the other Pirates, appears to be a Logia type and wields flames with deadly efficiency. Attacks showed great control in a devastating wave of fire punched out from his fist and a reckless divebomb aided by wings made of pure flame. Possibly an imitation of Marco's own abilities. Both new members of the Whitebeard Pirates are to be considered extremely dangerous and are wanted by the World Government. (See attached bounties)_

 _These four members laid waste to the Marine vessel that had been patrolling the area of-_

Garp stopped reading, not needing to as he knew that the Marines more than likely started the fight. Marco at least didn't needlessly attack Marines unless provoked. Instead he pulled out the bounty posters. The first was Corazon. As he'd been undercover they couldn't list him as the traitor he was, but his bounty reflected Sengoku's ire. 350,000,000 for a man who'd been thought of as dead for a decade was a tad ridiculous otherwise. The other one, the newbie, he saw was dubbed 'Fire-Fist' Ace. The photo was a poor quality one taken at a distance and then enlarged. It showed a grinning young man in an orange shirt with the famous whitebeard mark peaking out from under the left's sleeve. The guy was probably a little older than Coby, and he seemed to be strong enough. He idly wondered where the brat had come from. For a first bounty 2,500,000 was more than decent.

He folded the bounties and stuck them in his pocket before turning to Coby. "Set a course for Whitebeard's territory."

"Sir?"

"I want him to know he's got a traitor on board." Maybe he'd luck out and the old Pirate would give him the bastard to see what the man knew.


	9. Chapter 9

_**BEPO**_

At first Bepo had thought that _these_ Pirates were going to be just like the bunch that had tossed him in the cage. Thinking back on it, he wouldn't have been surprised if they were. The men who captured him had wasted no time in attacking the ship bearing a Jolly Roger with three red lines going through it. If _his_ people had been attacked like that there would have been no mercy.

A lot of the attacking Pirates found themselves in the ocean instead of dead though. It was almost like the group being attacked didn't see it as a real threat. Until the young man who was with them was attacked. Then it had turned bloody really quickly. The youngest did an impressive job against the few he did manage to face, though most were felled before they even got close to him. Bepo could tell he was annoyed when he viciously slashed at one of the Pirates hard enough to send him falling into the small cage the Mink was being kept in. It was at that moment Bepo knew his first thrill of fear at the hands of this new crew. It was obvious the men who had captured him were going to be soundly defeated but until now everyone had been content to ignore the polar bear in the cage. Completely overlooking him as he carefully tried to pick the lock with little success which the polar bear in question was fine with given what was going on. This new Pirate, with his dark hair and grey eyes that held no mercy didn't. He looked right at Bepo and raised his sword. He was sure he was going to die.

"Back up unless you want to get hurt, ya." The polar bear didn't so much as comply as flinch away from the voice directed at him. The result was thankfully the same as that sword came down and somehow severed the lock he'd been working at for so long. "You're free now. Get out." The Pirate turned away, intent once more on the fight.

"S-sorry!" Bepo yelped as he scrambled out of the cage, ignoring his injuries.

The Pirate just looked at him, frowning. Bepo swallowed hard as he tensed for an attack. He was such a fool to give himself away like that! He was even more freaked out when a man with blood red hair came strolling over. He was sure it was the end. "Whatcha got here, brat?"

"A polar bear. It appears to be hurt." Those grey eyes cut to the older man, "and I _have_ a name."

"Law, you'll always be a brat to me." The redhead slapped Law on the back. "So. Gonna fix up the bear or finish it off? Bear stew sounds nice."

"Bear meat isn't the best for you, Shanks. I believe I'll treat it instead. Wouldn't want you and the crew to get sick."

"How kind of you." Shanks eyed Bepo suspiciously, "Do you need a hand? Wild animals aren't the easiest patience.".

"I patched up my brothers often enough that this should be relatively easy. It's not as if he can set me on fire on accident." Bepo decided then and there he did _not_ want to meet Law's brothers. Ever. Shanks just laughed and turned to leave while Law ignored him and slowly approached Bepo with great caution. It was a little insulting, because he wasn't planning on hurting someone who was trying to help him. When Law was right in front of him he called out, "Shanks, do you know of any animals that can talk?" Causing Bepo to tense up once more under the calculating looks.

The redhead smiled at length. "You should go to Zoe if you're interested in stuff like that, brat. Whole place is full of this group called 'Minks'. Come to think of it, you and your brother's would fit right in." He added as he walked away.

Law made no reaction to his words except for a slight twitch. His attention was focused on the cut along Bepo's side. "I'm going to need to remove some of that fur to see how it is." He mused, eyes darting up to look at Bepo. "You'd best follow me to the _Red Force_ before they scuttle this scow. My kit is over there anyway."

He didn't really want to follow the Human. It could still be a trick of some sort. Except, the redhead Shanks had been to Zoe. He could tell the way his face had lit up. Not all Humans were dangerous, even among Pirates… And he wanted to know what was meant by Law and his brothers fitting in. So he followed behind the dark haired young man as he crossed over to the larger ship. He made sure to stick close as Law ducked between people and fended off his crewmates until they reached a small room. Law turned to him, holding open the door with an eyebrow raised. Eventually he entered and tried not to flinch when the door closed.

"My room." Law explained, shaking out a blanket before laying it on the cot for Bepo. The bear's eyes followed an odd feather that floated up at the move. "It will be easier for me to treat the wound if you lay here. You have my word I won't harm you."

"Sorry…" He moaned as he lay on the cot, causing it to creak.

"Don't apologize for being afraid. You're hurt and people kept you in a cage." Law pulled out a pair of scissors. "Unless you're apologizing for the bed. It's the first bed I've had in over a decade, so try not to break it."

His nose twitched as he watched the man carefully trim the thick white fur along the gash in his side. "Huh?"

"I didn't have a bed to a long time. So, it's still novel. You Minks sleep in beds I assume?"

"Well, yes. We're not _animals_ \- I mean, we're civilized."

Law nodded, "My brothers and I were anything but. We grew up on an island with just the four of us and Cora-san."

Bepo let out a whimper as Law cleaned the wound. He knew it would need stitches. Looking away from the injury he tried to get the Human talking again to take his mind off of it. "I thought Humans were social?"

"We are." The young man threaded a needle, "My brothers and I are Ds though. You know what that means?"

Mutely he shook his head.

"Some Ds are born with wings. It's a throwback to before our clan was nearly wiped out. _Most_ people think it makes us monsters." He laid another stitch, "We're not of course. No more than any other, really."

"W-what happened?"

"To us? We had the misfortune of catching a madman's eye. Donquixote Donflamingo. The man's a Pirate now and wants his own personal army of winged Ds." Grey eyes fluttered up to Bepo's, "We may not be monsters but we are powerful - and hard to kill - his idea of the perfect slaves. But we escaped. Myself first, with the help of Cora-san and then my brothers. We've been relatively safe since. Others aren't so lucky." The way Law said that made it clear enough what happened to the unlucky ones. "And you? What's a Mink doing so far from home?"

"A-ah! I wanted to b-be a Pirate…." Bepo trailed off weakly, feeling foolish. All he had managed to do was to get caught and then rescued. He was horrible at it, and to think he was blaming being a _Mink_ when Law had things so much worse…. "Sorry…"

Law just smirked at him. "Why not join my crew then, bear?"

"Sorry?"

"You, set sail with me. We'll wait till you heal before leaving the Redhair Pirates. But what do you say?"

"Do you always decide things like this?"

"It's something I've learned from my youngest brother. Are you in…..?"

"Bepo." He supplied instinctively. "I'll do my best…." Because he didn't think he had a real choice in the matter.


	10. Chapter 10

_**THATCH**_

Thatch tried not to laugh at the sight of Ace face down in a plate of grains and goat meat. He really did. But when the locals started to whisper something about a deadly desert strawberry spider and how Ace must have eaten one he couldn't help it. This was the third time on their trip that Ace had freaked out the locals, and it _never_ got old. The Fourth Division Commander was so glad he had volunteered to show the rookie the ropes of being a Pirate and how to use a log pose. Though, he was a little confused as to why Ace had wanted to stop at Alabasta. Sure, for a fire-type he assumed the weather was great, but everything else sucked. Unless the brat was looking to pick a fight. He was sure that was bound to happen sooner or later.

Speaking of…. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"If it isn't Twin Sword Thatch of the Whitebeard Pirates."

"You know, you Marines really need to get more inventive with those names." He sighed, turning around to look at the man glowering at him, cigar jammed in his mouth. "White Chase Smoker, right? What are you doing away from Loguetown?"

The Marine took what he assumed was supposed to be a threatening step into the restaurant. "I'm looking for a Pirate. To be honest, I don't have time to waste on you, so you should just turn yourself in."

"I'm sorry, but my friend and I aren't about to do that."

"Friend?" Smoker's cigar was almost bitten in half when Thatch casually pointed to the now snoring Ace. "This is that new one. Fire Fist, isn't it?" The man asked, leaning over Ace but was wise enough not to touch him. At least _this_ Marine seemed to have _some_ honor.

"Yep." He popped. "So you see why I can't just go with you. Gotta make a good impression on the rookie and all that."

"Then we'll just have to do this the hard way."

"I guess s-"

"-ROCKET!"

"-ookay then." Thatch finished lamely, blinking at the hole in the wall where Smoker and Ace had disappeared through. He shrugged it off, figuring both would be fine and turned his attention to the idiot who'd caused it. An idiot who was drooling and begging for food. "What was that about?"

"What was what about? AH! Thanks Mister!" He started shoving food into his mouth that the restaurant owner had brought over. The owner just nodded vaguely before going back to staring at the hole in his wall. Thatch felt for the man.

He turned on his stool and leaned on the counter to watch the fool. He looked _vaguely_ familiar, but Thatch had met a lot of people and had _a lot_ of brothers and sisters so that really wasn't too uncommon when he came across someone new. He was pretty sure he'd never met someone this young on the seas before. If it weren't for the fact he'd just sent his friend and Smoker flying through a few buildings he'd be wondering where his folks were - the brat was that young. "Well, you just sent two people through the wall."

"Huh?" Big brown eyes blinked at him before looking at the hole. He pointed at it and said quite loudly, "THERE'S A HOLE IN THE WALL! Hey Mister! Why's there a hole in the wall?"

"YOU DID THAT!"

Thatch burst out laughing, earning a dark look from the owner, which he guessed he did deserve. Shaking his head at the brat still stuffing his face he couldn't help but grin, "You're a funny kid. What's your name?"

"I'm L-"

" _STRAWHAT!"_ Smoker outright _snarled_ , already turning to vapor as he stared at the kid.

A kid who blinked at him for a second before somehow swallowing all the food that was left with a grin. "Hi Smokey! Bye Smokey!" And he was gone.

"Damn he's fast."

"GET BACK HERE, STRAWHAT!" There went Smoker. Thatch guessed that was the 'Pirate' he was after. The Division Commander shrugged to himself as he turned back to the counter. Wasn't any of his business, really. Now he just had to wait for Ace, who was probably still asleep.

"YOU LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE!"

….Or not. "Ace?"

"Thatch! Move it! He's getting away!"

"Trust me, Smoker running after some punk rookie ass is good for us."

"THAT PUNK ASS ROOKIE IS MY BROTHER, LUFFY!" Ace yelled as he raced out of the building.

When he put it that way… Thatch took off after him. There was no way in _hell_ Smoker was going to lay a hand on the youngest Winged D. Not when Thatch was around. Sure, one day Luffy'd be an amazing Pirate - all the D brothers would be amazing he was sure - but he was so _tiny_ … he ran faster. He'd known the boys were fast, but he was pretty impressed that the kid was outrunning Smoker. Sure, he'd taken to the roofs the moment he'd had the chance, but that wasn't much help against _White Chase_. It was pure speed that kept him ahead, and all without the use of his wings. Ace was trailing after them hurling curses and death threats that were being ignored while Thatch himself was just following on the streets, staying ahead of the horde of Marines that had somehow gathered. Honestly, where the hell did they all _come from?!_

Then Luffy jumped off the roofs and hung a sharp right for some reason, allowing the Marines to close in rapidly. The reason he'd taken the risk was quickly revealed as a group was flushed out from behind the decaying remains of a building by the Marines to go running after the teen, hurling insults at him. Thatch wasn't too worried about that since despite their words they seemed good natured, and given the situation he'd be hurling insults and death threats himself. Unfortunately the detour allowed Smoker to get ahead of them, and Thatch was still a little bit too far behind them to stop the impending slaughter. He could see as Luffy skidded to a stop in front of the motley group following him, the way he lowered himself into a battle ready stance. "Strawhat Luffy! We have you surrounded." Smoker grumbled, pulling out his jute, "Surrender now."

"Don't wanna!"

"What are you even doing here in Alabasta, Strawhat? Someone like you- you shouldn't be allowed to roam free!" Thatch's mouth went dry. He was still behind the smaller group and not close enough to stop Smoker. He commended the younger Pirates for rushing ahead of Luffy, ready to defend him, but it wouldn't be enough.

Luckily it didn't have to be. Ace came out of nowhere like an avenging angel. An avenging angel from hell that was on fire and was out for blood as he landed on Smoker's back, wings extended and completely aflame to disguise them. "LEAVE MY _LITTLE BROTHER ALONE_!" He snarled.

"Fire Fist!" Smoker reacted quickly, dissipating into smoke only to launch an attack with his jute that Ace wisely flipped over while attempting to deliver a kick to the man's face. Of course now that Smoker knew he was there, it didn't work, but that was fine. It bought Thatch enough time to push his way though the younger Pirates, pulling both his swords as he did so.

"Stay behind me, kid." He said, giving Luffy a cocky grin.

"Luffy, do you know this guy?" The one with green hair asked, giving Thatch a dark look. He _liked_ that look, preferably not directed at him though.

"Nope." The look got darker. _Thanks a lot Luffy_. "But the other guy's my brother! Hiya Ace!"

"How many brothers do you have?!"

"Luffy, get out of here for now, Thatch and I'll cover you!" Oh, Ace had remembered he was here. How nice to feel included.

Luffy didn't question his brother, instead turning and taking off as Thatch kindly cleared a path for him. Finding them shouldn't be too hard for him, he _was_ the Fourth Division Commander after all. Even if Luffy only showed up like a foggy blip to his _haki_ there were still the others. First he had to take care of these Marines, or at least stop Ace from slaughtering them all. Looking at the slightly crazy glint in his friend's eyes that might be a little harder than he would want. Being sure to keep an eye on the hothead, Thatch lashed out with his swords, barely paying attention to the Marines he was facing. Most were cannon fodder level anyway and didn't require any serious work to dispatch. There was that one woman with a katana who was promising, but she definitely needed a little bit more seasoning before she'd be up to his level. Not to mention she seemed more interested in following Luffy and his group than fighting him, which Thatch just wasn't going to allow. He quickly disarmed her and knocked her out, not feeling right about killing a fellow swords-person who showed so much promise. By that point Ace and Smoker had had scorched a good amount of the street and had paused for a moment, both trying to figure out how to get the upper hand. Thatch let out a whistle, attracting both of their attention. When he met Smoker's eyes he smirked, twirling first one sword then the other, "Fancy a little two on one, then?"

"Twin Sword…."

"Well, make up your mind, White Chase. I've had my warm up. Are we continuing this?" He rested one sword on his shoulder, letting the smirk slide of his face to be replaced by a more serious look. "Or are you going to be smart and walk away? Because I'll be honest, you're going after Ace's brother. You _know_ what that means."

Smoker glared at him, eyes flicking to Ace more than once. He could see the moment the man came to a decision, the _right_ one. Tension left Thatch as the man spat, "Damn Whitebeard Pirates." He strapped his jute to his back, none the less. "Strawhat one of yours, then?"

"Officially? No." Thatch admitted. Ace had been quite adamant about letting his little brother pick his own path and already Ace's face was bright red in anger. "He's still family though, so we're not gonna just sit by and let you pick on him when we're in the area, yeah?"

Smoker had the audacity to laugh. "You've heard about Drum then? The Marines are all up in arms about that _and_ the trouble he caused in Kokoyashi and Loguetown."

Ace went still. Dangerously still. "What. Did. He. Do?"

"Kokoyashi, he overthrew Arlong." They'd heard about that. Sabo'd sent a letter about that one with that ugly News Coothe boys loved. "Drum he overthrew a dictator." Not surprising in the slightest, if Thatch was honest with himself. But the dictator was probably paying the Marines off to turn a blind eye if they were upset. "And Loguetown he broke the execution platform." Well that explained why Smoker was here.

Wait. _What?_ Thatch blinked. "Come again?"

"He broke the platform Roger was executed on."

"Luuuufffy…." Ace groaned. rubbing his face. "Whhhyyyy."

Smoker laughed again, and Thach had to join him. Thatch slapped his friend on the shoulder as the Marine watched them leave, making no move to follow them though it was obvious that they'd be going after Luffy and his crew. The docks would have been the logical place to look, but undoubtedly the small band of Pirates would never have managed to sneak into town if they'd been foolish enough to lay anchor there. Still, with Luffy as their Captain and given his behavior it was a possibility. When his _haki_ and Ace's big-brother sense pulled them out of town towards the sandstone bluffs Thatch let out a sigh of relief. He could hear some sort of argument going on on deck as they approached the cheerful little ship with a sheepshead for a figurehead but didn't think anything of it as he and Ace made the not-so-small-jump to the deck.

"- many brothers?!" One of the women was shouting.

"There's four of us, if you include Luffy." Ace said, balancing on the rail in a way that Thatch was _not_ jealous of. He ducked his head low and didn't see the way the woman paled at his words. "Thanks for looking out for him. He's our little brother, and we worry."

Thatch saw her look though, even if she'd covered it up quickly with a smile. He resolved to have a talk to the crew. No way he was leaving Luffy with a crew that was not 100% trustworthy, even if it was just because one was _afraid_ of him. If he had to, he'd take care of the problem the hard way. Yeah, he'd hate himself later - more than the kid would hate him, he was sure - but it was better than Luffy getting hurt in the long run. He pushed those thoughts away for now and grinned, "So, this is your littlest brother, huh?"

"Yep, this is Luffy." Ace hopped off the rail and grabbed his little brother - who looked so much smaller when side by side - with a wide grin that was echoed by the younger. Then he promptly punched him in the head and pulled him into a headlock, ignoring the way his brother's crew tensed up. "You IDIOT! Are you _trying_ to give me a heart attack?! First you don't _write_ and _then_ I find out from a _Marine_ that you've been doing all sorts of crazy shit! What the _HELL_ Luffy!" Each complaint was followed up by Ace roughly digging his knuckles into his brother's scalp, ignoring the yelping protests. He didn't, or couldn't, ignore the red wing that clipped him in the ear though. "OW! That does it, this is war!" He tossed his brother down, his own wings flaring and attempted to drop on top of him. Luffy obviously had practice though and got out of the way before running across the deck laughing. "GET BACK HERE YOU!"

They all stood there watching. The kid with the long nose broke the silence after a moment. "Is this, uh, normal?"

"Well, they haven't seen each other in quite a while so…" Thatch shrugged. "I'm Thatch, by the way. Fourth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."

"Yeah, we know." Said the guy with the green hair. He had three swords strapped to his side, one of which he was fingering casually. "Roronoa Zoro. There a _reason_ you're here?"

It was easy enough to figure out he was the first mate by the way he took charge. "Ace is one of my crewmates." He answered honestly, deciding to leave out that his Captain had a long vested interest in the D boys. For one thing, to outsiders it'd sound more than a little creepy. For another, he wasn't sure if he trusted this crew yet. "He wanted to check up on his brother, so, here we are."

"Good thing too, I'd say. Shitty Captain ran off - _again_ \- and found trouble." The blond man sighed, lighting a cigarette. He raised a hand to forestall what seemed to be a protest that was about to leap forward from everyone. "Yeah, I know. It's _Luffy_. He'd find trouble sitting still in a corner. I'm Sanji, the cook."

"I'm telling you, we should put a bell on him." Said the kid with the long nose. "That way, we'll know when he runs off. Usopp, I'm the best sniper in the world." he boasted. Maybe one day he would be.

The little tanuki spoke, shaking its head, "You tried that before we got here, remember? He broke the bell and _then_ ran off to find a new one. That's why he got lost in the first place." He looked up at Thatch, "I'm Chopper. I'm the doctor and I'm a reindeer."

The large duck let out a honking quack. Chopper nodded, "Kalru says if you're that worried about him wandering off we could try a leash?"

"NO! No leash." The woman with the orange hair bit out, a shudder running through her body before Thatch could even think of protesting that kind of cruelty. Even if he knew it had only been in jest. He looked at the young woman in surprise. "Luffy wouldn't like that. Trust me. He - he wouldn't get that it was just a _joke_."

The other woman, the one with blue hair smiled softly and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's fine, Nami. We won't even talk about it then if it would bother him so much." She looked up at Thatch. "Nami's our Navigator, and I'm Vivi."

He blinked, a slight frown pulling at his lips, "As in the crown princess of Alabasta?" She bit her lip but didn't answer, which was really answer enough. "Damn, that brat doesn't do things by half, does he?"

"Luffy has said he'll help me get my country back from the Shichibukai Crocodile. And I believe him." She raised her chin defiantly.

"Oh, I have no doubt about that, Princess." He leaned on the rail, crossing his arms as he nodded over to where the two brothers were still engaged in tussling. "But you see that? _That_ is one of Luffy's older brothers. Who is _also_ a Winged D. There are two _other_ Winged D brothers. _IF_ Luffy fails, or is hurt in _any_ way, you're going to have all _three_ of them here. And they're not going to give a damn about you or your country, got it? _Especially_ if your countrymen have anything to do with hurting him. Not to mention you'll be dealing with the Redhair Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates."

"Is that a threat?" Nami asked, eyes narrowing as she fingered a staff.

Thatch shook his head, "Not at all. I just want you to know exactly who you're getting involved in this civil war of yours if this goes badly."

"So you don't think Luffy can handle it." Zoro snorted, "You don't know our Captain at all. If he says he can do something, he'll do it."

"I'm not doubting it. You forget I have one of his brothers on my crew." He caught a feather as it drifted past and glanced over to see Ace pinning his brother as he started to preen him. Ace was frowning, and Thatch had to wonder when the last time Luffy preened was. He made a decision and hoped he wouldn't regret it. "After the hell they've been through, I'm not about to doubt his resolve. But his Nakama's _got_ _to have his back_." He pointed at the brothers. "When was the last time one of you helped him preen?" They all looked confused, and it was easy to figure out that _Luffy_ hadn't wanted them to touch him. Well too bad. "That's it, get your asses over here for a lesson on D care."


	11. Chapter 11

_**DRAGON**_

Monkey D. Dragon stood watching the newest recruit to the Resistance as the young man leaned over the edge. Hack had brought him in a few months ago and all the trainers spoke highly of the boy. Honestly he wasn't surprised, not given what Hack had shared with him in confidence. To think, he was looking at possibly one of two Winged Ds left alive… Sure, Sabo'd lost his wings, but he'd been quite clear that he _didn't_ consider himself a cripple and didn't take kindly to those who treated him like one. He was a survivor and he'd adapted in ways that even Dragon found impressive. Dragon winced as his thoughts naturally turned to his own son. A son he hadn't seen since he was nothing but a babe. He'd thought the boy would be safe with his father, but how was he to know that Luffy'd be one of the rare Winged Ds? If he had known… Dragon shook his head, leaving the thoughts of the dead where they belonged - in the past.

The young man before him _had_ survived whatever life had thrown at him, that much was obvious. But it had left scars, both physical and emotional. He was a good kid, either way and Dragon was glad to have him on board, despite the few times he'd pulled a knife on someone who'd gotten too close to him while eating. Which brought him to why he'd tracked the young man down today. Apparently there had been some sort of… Altercation in the mess hall and Koala had almost been hurt when she'd approached her new friend from behind. Now he was sulking, which was to be expected, Dragon supposed. He sighed, coming out onto the balcony to attempt to comfort the blond. He wasn't… good… at things like this. Ivankov was better. "Sabo, isn't it?"

"I'm not sulking." The blond answered, without even turning around from the ocean view.

"Really now."

"Really." Cool blue eyes glanced at him, "Dragon-San." It didn't sound sincere, but he let it slide. "I already apologized to Koala, too. She wanted to show me the paper…. keeps thinking I'm going to grow out of reacting like that or something." He snorted as Dragon came to lean on the edge as well.

"She's unaware how Ds can be around their food. That's my fault I'm afraid." Dragon smirked, "As a benefit of my rank I eat in private."

Sabo gaped at him, "You're a-"

"Yes, I'm a D. Not a Winged one like you, however. Sorry."

The young man shook his head, "That's fine! You're only like, the third regular D my brothers and I have met! We - I - have so many questions!" He was practically bouncing up and down in excitement, a total change from his usual closed off personality.

Dragon had a lot of questions, too. He had thought that Sabo only had one brother, given what Hack had said. The idea he had more was both exciting and a little worrying. Why hadn't he mentioned them before? He pushed those thoughts away as he smiled indulgently at Sabo. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, you said you eat a lot, right?" Where did the notebook come from? "And, are you deep barrel chested? I can't really tell with the cloak on. How are you at jumping?"

"I'm decent at jumping, I eat much more than the average man, but from what I gather you put me to shame, Sabo." He unhooked his cape and allowed it to fall, "As for the last question I'm not sure what you mean."

Sabo just grinned at him as he walked around, eyes roving over him in a way that was both very impersonal and extremely personal. "This is perfect. See, we have deeper chest cavities. Like birds, I guess. Looks like _you_ have a slightly deeper chest than regular people, but not quite like ours." He sat on the low wall and jotted that down in his notebook, still grinning. "Growing up, we wondered just how different we were. We knew we were different than Cora-san, that was kind of obvious. But everyone else, other Ds? We wondered…"

"Were you that alone?" He asked, picking up his cloak and putting it back on. It seemed like such a horribly lonely life, even if it had worked.

The teen shrugged, "We had each other, and Cora-san, of course. And then Stumpy showed up."

"Stumpy?" He followed the finger Sabo now pointed out over the sea where a lone Coowas slowly flapping it's way towards them.

"Stumpy." Sabo waved his arms, attracting the bird's attention. They both watched as the bird powered on, flapping determinedly through the still air to reach the balcony and landing roughly in front of Sabo. The teen was quick to empty his pockets, putting a collection of cooked shrimp in front of the bird which was quickly eaten. "How have you been, buddy? You hear about Lu, too, huh?" The bird clacked its beak at him, hobbling around on one leg and allowing Dragon a good look at the Coo.

"I know that News Coo. It charges double the amount for papers." He said, glaring at the Pirate logo on its hat.

"Does he? He's never charged me, but he always gives us papers that are a few days old." He scratched the bird behind the hat, "And he delivers letters for my brothers and I. Right, Stumpy? What'cha got for me today? Oh, and can you bring this to Law?" The Coobit him. "AH! Not right now! Just, whenever. Gesh. Let me read what you brought me you stupid bird." He groused, snagging the papers in the bird's bag and sitting onto the low wall to read. He easily shifted his arms around to allow the Cooto settle into his lap, giving Dragon the impression that he'd done this many times before.

Curious, the Resistance leader cautiously joined Sabo on the wall, aware he might not be welcome. "Letters from home?"

"Mmm, not exactly. We all… flew the coop as it were. But thanks to Stumpy here we're able to keep in touch. This guy's _always_ able to find us somehow. I guess he thinks of us as his flock?"

"Smart." He acknowledged, "Since no one is allowed to interfere with a News Cooor its cargo. Not even the Marines." The teen just grunted in agreement, looking at the bounty posters that were included.

"Looks like Ace's bounty went up again… and so did Law's. 'Surgeon of Death', gah his ego's going to be _unbelievable_ , isn't it Stumpy?" The bird trilled. If it was possible it looked annoyed.

"Can I see those?" Dragon asked cautiously.

Sabo glanced up, "Sure. It's not like they're _new_ or anything. Here." He passed over two posters that Dragon had seen. Both for rookie Pirates who had been making names for themselves pretty quickly. There seemed to be two other pieces of paper left, one also a bounty poster and one a letter. Sabo's attention went first to the letter, which he read while frowning. "Of all the stupid, reckless…." he glanced at the bounty poster, seeming to study the amount before going back to the letter. "That's too low if they know, right? Right, Stumpy?...Law says so….Oh good, Ace asked his Captain, and he says so, too. Still, it's kinda high…. Why is it so high?"

He couldn't help asking, "Why is what so high?"

"Oh, our youngest brother's bounty." He passed over the poster.

The amount of 150,000,000 beri had been circled and arrows drawn around it, obscuring most of the name, but not the grinning happy face of a teen wearing a straw hat. Dragon had never seen this poster before. "Where was he last?"

"Right now we're not sure exactly, but _this_ is a result of Alabasta."

"Alabasta." The country that had recently had a revolution where a Shichibukai had been overthrown for the rightful king by the hands of the Marines, lead by White Chase Smoker. Or, at least that was what the papers were saying. Then some mystery rookie Pirate suddenly came out of it with a large bounty. He made a mental note to look up this Strawhat wearing kid and his crew, because something told him this brat was the _real_ reason Smoker had been in Alabasta. Hearing the rustle of feathers Dragon realized he wasn't alone, and that Sabo _and_ his bird friend were waiting for him to say something. "If he had something to do with the revolution, the Marines would want to cover it up of course. But this brother of yours would have made himself a threat to them, taking out a Shichibukai, if that's what happened."

"Oh, that's what happened all right. Lu's _very_ reckless and he _hates_ bullies." Sabo shook his head.

Well, that answered that. Dragon glanced at the bounty pictures again, taking in the grins and the smirk Sabo wore as he read the rest of his letter. Four Winged Ds alive and active in the world. That was going to shake up the world, especially if the four of them managed to keep making waves. "Well now, be sure to write to your brothers on how well you're doing here. While we in the Resistance avoid getting bounty posters, you have quite quickly risen in the ranks and have performed quite well in the missions you've been sent on." He smiled, "Don't want you to feel like you're being surpassed by them, after all."

"Surpassed by _Lu_? Hardly." Sabo laughed. "We work better as a team, anyway. Law 'n I are the thinkers, and the other two are the heavy hitters, you know?"

"I see." He stood. "Well, I'll leave you to your letter writing then. Don't stay out too long, or Koala might come looking for you." Dragon said, making for the doorway. What he needed now was a stiff drink. The thought of the four of them loose of the world was frightening in a thrilling-world-changing way. Them teamed up together - and by Sabo's words it was something they'd be more than willing to do - was downright terrifying. He just wasn't sure for who yet.


	12. Chapter 12

_**CORA**_

"Shore leave is a glorious thing, isn't it?"

Izo chuckled, sipping from his own glass, "Don't tell me you were going stir crazy on the _Moby Dick_? Not after that tiny island you called home all those years."

"Not stir crazy, exactly. Just, in need of some time away." Cora signaled for another drink, "Damn brats are _still_ gonna be the death of me, ya know?"

"You wouldn't be referring to Ace's ever increasing bounty? Or Law's crew and his rise in infamy?" The Division Commander smiled, "Or maybe it's little Luffy's sudden large bounty that has you worried?"

"All of it. I don't even _want_ to know what Sabo's up to. It can't be good. Ace just tells me he's fine and doing well." He took a deep drink, "So I'm just going to sit here and get wasted and try _not_ to think of what I've unleashed into the world. I'm _not_ going to accept responsibility for this. Nope. Not at all. They're _sort of_ adults. Law is, at least, and they're all… mature-ish. Right?"

Izo let out a little laugh as he finished off his drink and left beri for it. "Whatever helps you sleep at night Cora-san. Well, I have some things to oversee. I'll be back to make sure you make it back to the _Moby Dick_ later."

Cora pouted in good humor at his friend's lack in faith in him. He wasn't planning on getting completely plastered, just really really drunk. Still, it was nice to know that someone was looking out for him. He felt a little bit better about spending his hard earned beri on booze knowing Izo'd come along and drag his butt back to the ship. Even if the man would have to find him eventually, because there was no way this podunk little pub was going to have enough for him _and_ everyone else. That being the case he finished up his drink, which happened to be his third or fifth already, and made his way out in search of another watering hole. The streets were relatively crowded, which was to be expected with some of Whitebeard's crew in the area. People were hawking their wares and overall it felt like a festival had broken out. A drastic difference compared to when the Doflamingo Pirates came calling to a port. A welcome one at that, however, given no one was running away fearing for their lives. Still, Corazon wasn't foolish to think that there weren't going to be Marines mixed in with the crowds who were looking for trouble - whether it was to start it or to end it was another thing.

When he overheard a scuffle down one of the side streets and went to investigate he really wondered if perhaps _both_ groups were a little too eager to start something sometimes. "Hey. Don't you bastards have something better to do?"

Seven pairs of eyes darted to him, only three happy to see him. The fact that the Pirates were outnumbered _didn't_ excuse them in his eyes. They were _Whitebeard's_ for crying out loud, and he made sure his glare expressed his feelings on the matter. As he was easily stronger than all three of them - a fact established in inter-division fights - they wisely looked away. "They started it!" One dared to protest.

"Well, _I'm_ finishing it. We're not here to _start_ anything, you morons. Now _scat!_ " His crewmates wisely took off, one Marine - one with pink hair of all things - following. Corazon rolled his eyes as he reached into his pocket for his cigarettes. "What are you, deaf? That means you losers, too. Get lost already." He narrowed his eyes, threat clear in his posture before the fools got the hint and took off. "Fools." He sighed, taking a long drag off his cigarette.

"You're the fool showing yourself, _Rocinante_." Someone growled behind him.

Cora tensed, recognizing the voice though it had been well over a decade since he had heard it, and never in anger. Especially never directed at him. Still, he was no coward. He would face the man head on, foolish though it was. So he turned, first spotting the pink haired Marine, who now looked like he was about to die of fright. Then his eyes fell on Garp. "It's Corazon now."

"I know who you are, _traitor._ " If looks could kill he'd be dead where he stood.

"Traitor to who? Doflamingo? The Marines?" Corazon let out a puff of smoke. "Either way you and Sengoku set me up to be a traitor. To my own brother."

Garp's fist connected with a wall, breaking through it. Corazon silently apologized to whomever owned the building. "You asked for it! Because you knew it was the right thing!" The Marine yelled. "And then you _abandoned your post! You cost-_!" He choked off, tears forming in his eyes.

"Garp-San!"

"He went after _my family_! And because of _you_ we had no warning!"

"Don't lay that at my feet, old man!" Corazon snapped, even as his heart went out to both Garp and the one lost. "We _both_ know it had _nothing_ to do with being related to the great Garp. It was _what_ they were."

Garp blanched. "How…?"

"You think they were the only ones he targeted? The only ones he killed? Talk to Whitebeard sometime - he lost a son to Doflamingo."

The Marine looked shattered at the news. "I wanted them to be safe… Why didn't you _do something_ to stop him?"

"He already suspected I was a spy, you know." Corazon revealed. "Never really trusted me." He shook his head in disgust, "That damn feather coat of his? It's made out of wing feathers of Ds. When the first one practically fell into his lap it was all I could do to get the kid out of there in one piece."

"Why didn't you come to us? We would have helped!"

Corazon snorted, "You know as well as I do that's a lie, Garp." He took another long drag of his cigarette, noticing his hand was shaking as he flicked the ash off. "Doflamingo wasn't the only reason I went into hiding, after all."

"...The kid. He survive?" Garp asked after a moment.

"The ones I was able to rescue did." Cora nodded. "I'm sorry about your family's loss. Really, I am. If I could have…"

Garp cut him off, "How many were you able to save from that mad man?"

"Four. All brats."

"That's why you vanished…" The aged Marine seemed to sag in on himself. "I _can't_ forgive you - but I understand. You made a tough call. The ones you saved, they're alive and well?"

"As well as can be expected. Lawless little shits, of course. But, well, I count it as a plus they didn't turn out cannibals." They shared a grin.

"Cora-san!" A voice echoed off the roof tops causing the tall man to sigh.

"Speaking of the little shits…" He muttered, "I better go take care of that."

"I-is that one of t-the...?" Asked the pink haired Marine.

"It's just an overgrown seagull is all."

"Bawahahaha! You go right ahead and take care of that then. Next time… Next time I want to meet the rat with wings."

Corazon grinned, "Sure. Come to Shabondy in a year. I promise you'll see something amazing."


	13. Chapter 13

_**PENGUIN**_

It had been a blow to his pride when he'd first joined the Heart Pirates to find himself answerable to a _bear_ of all things. If it hadn't been for Law saving Sachi's life, he would have walked then and there. But he had a debt to be paid, and Penguin might be a Pirate, but he'd be _damned_ if he wasn't going to pay back that smug bastard for saving his brother's life. Sachi, of course, thought the whole thing was fantastic. He and the bear, Bepo, became fast friends almost instantly and he was able to just laugh off Law's sometimes murderous comments with ease.

He worried about him, sometimes. Well, not really, but...

Penguin sighed, shaking off his thoughts for another time. Preferably one when they _weren't_ in the middle of the sea in a submarine _,_ even if they had surfaced for the day to recharge their batteries and get some fresh air. In reality they tended to surface more than necessary, which most of the crew never bothered to even think about beyond being thankful for it. True, it did mean the News Coos were able to find them and the sub didn't reek to high heaven, but Penguin doubted Law was being altruistic at all. No, he had a feeling his reasons were a lot more personal than that. It _did_ mean he should have the rec room/ galley to himself while everyone else was topside. Time enough to pour over the maps for this area and learn the currents they'd be dealing with. Sachi was almost as good as he was, but _Sachi_ never took into account depth, nearly running them to ground once.

"Heeeey. Woocha doing, man?" His brother asked, strolling into the rec room, a joint between his fingers.

Penguin fixed him with a look. "Don't tell me you're high."

"Fine, I won't then." The redhead flopped across from him, taking a long pull, "Want a hit?"

" _No_ , I don't. I'm trying to work."

"Awe, come _on_ man! You and Bepo, _man_."

He rolled his eyes as he scanned the next section of the map, barely taking notice as he waved his hand to dissipate the smoke from the joint. "You're that desperate for someone to get high with ask one of the other crewmen."

"They're all scared, ya know? Of the _Law_." His brother giggled.

"If he finds out you've been raiding the medical supplies to get high again, he's going to kill you.

"He's not that bad." Sachi whined over the sounds of people coming down the hall.

Penguin couldn't resist the slightly smug look he gave his brother, "Well, we're about to find out, aren't we?"

"What? Aw shi- Heeyyyy man!"

Law circled around the table the two of them were sitting at, nodachi over his shoulder and cleaning kit under one arm. His nose wrinkled in disgust even as he bent over to glance at the map Penguin slid over for him. "That is disgusting."

"Naw. It's _amazing_. You'd love it." Sachi claimed, grinning widely as he offered the joint to their Captain, ignoring how the few others that were walking by gasped in either surprise or fear.

"Sachi."

"Yeah?"

"Do you enjoy breathing?" Law's tone was very conversational as he slid into the seat next to Penguin.

His brother's brow furrowed as he thought about the question for a moment. Then he nodded happily. "Yeah! Yeah I do. It's cool, man."

"It'd be pretty hard to do it without _lungs_ don't you think?" Law's grin was downright _creepy_. It really made him look insane and Penguin would have considered clearing out with the rest of the crew except for two things. One, it was directed at his brother.

Who was now laughing. "You're alright, man. You're alright." Sachi stood, "Yeah. That's a good one. We still on for later then, Captain?"

"If you're not high anymore. I'm not letting you near my skin with any needles when you're like this."

"Fair enough." Sachi shook his head, "I'm going to find Bepo. Convince the others you didn't kill me. Again. Bunch of babies."

That would be the other reason he hadn't been worried. Law had a wicked sense of humor and was horrible at people skills for a doctor. Which, considering what he and his brother had found out those first few weeks when it had been just the four of them on the sub, made complete sense. The new crew members, well… Penguin might not want to _stay_ forever, but he wasn't about to leave until he was _damn_ sure he could trust Law and Bepo's safety to them. Sachi was a lot more direct with his methods. People thought the Polar Bear was the scary one, too. How wrong they were. Penguin shook his head, wondering who was going to end up overboard today. "Having more tattoo work done?"

Law nodded, "I want to have it finished before meeting with my brothers."

"Your brothers?"

"Haven't I mentioned them before?" Grey eyes looked up from the map as his hand fiddled with the strap he wore at his neck.

"No. No, I think I'd remember that. It'd kinda be hard to _forget_ something like that, Captain." He allowed the sarcasm to slip into his voice before lowering it. "Are they…?"

"Like me? Yes. I think you'd like them. Or, possibly find them easier to deal with than myself. Who knows? Maybe you'll sail with them instead."

Penguin slammed his fist on the table, glaring at Law in anger. "Are you _trying_ to get rid of me? I did _not_ spend my time stuck on a submarine just for you to get rid of me when it was convenient for you. Hate to break it to you, Law, but your feathery ass is stuck with me - and by extension my pot smoking brother - until we damn well decide to leave!"

"...I was just suggesting that…"

"And that, for the record is going to be NEVER at this rate! Who the hell else will put up with your shit other than us and Bepo?"

Law looked away for a moment, a small, soft smile pulling at his lips. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now. What do you think about going here? There might be a wreck we can scavenge."


	14. Chapter 14

_**NAMI**_

"Luffy!" He was ignoring her, she just knew it. There was too much to see and do now that Chopper had officially given him the all clear and ended the bed rest. It was like the little reindeer had flipped a switch the moment he told the dark haired teen he could get up. Luffy was practically bouncing off the walls, dropping feathers everywhere as he flapped around. One moment he would be hanging off of Robin and telling her he'd _never_ let her out of his sight again, and the next he'd be demanding a story from Usopp before tackling Zoro or Sanji to the ground in his exuberance. No one else seemed bothered by the mess he was making - more glad that he was still _alive_ to make the mess - but Nami remembered what Thatch had said all those months ago. Loose feathers were one thing, _losing_ feathers was another. Their Captain was going into a molt and someone was going to have to help him preen.

"Awe, let him have fun, Nami." Usopp asked, hanging off her shoulder. He'd be no help whatsoever. Not with how relieved he was feeling to be welcomed back into the fold. Like there was _ever_ any doubt. The guy honestly thought his disguise had fooled Luffy.

"He can have fun later. Look at him, Usopp."

"He's not hurting anything."

She glared at him, " _Look_ at him. He's loosing feathers everywhere!" She picked one out of Usopp's hair, holding it up and showing him the broken quill. "Breaking them, too. He _needs_ a good preening. You know what Thatch said, molts can be tricky and _Luffy_ hates to be preened as it is."

He looked away conceding her point without saying it. After a moment he let out a huff. "Alright, I'll talk to the others and we'll clear out, but it's your turn anyway. You get to be the bad guy this time."

"I know." She offered a weak smile. "Thanks."

"Nah, you're right anyway. Can't risk him getting sick or something because he forgot to take care of himself. Silly featherhead." Before long Usopp had managed to convince the other boys to leave the room, Chopper being the easiest of course once he'd realized what Nami was attempting to do.

Robin was tasked with distracting the excitable teen until it was just the three of them left in the room. Easy enough when all she had to do was speak of the ship Franky was building. While many features were going to be a surprise to all of them, there were a few things the shipwright had asked the crew about out of deference to what he deemed as 'special needs'. Which was why the deck was going to have actual live grass for Chopper and there was going to be a shower instead of a bath for all the devil fruit users, as it was safer. Another thing Chopper had requested was a sand bath, which was why even now Iceburg had his crew out looking for the finest silt tossed up from the storm. The little doctor had confided it would actually be very good for Luffy's wings, an open secret at this point among the Shipwrights of Water Seven. If their Captain protested like they figured he would - he never liked special attention - Chopper would gladly use the dust bath with him. It turned out it was one thing he'd missed from Alabasta. Of course, Luffy knew none of this. All he knew was Franky was going to build him a ship, and it was going to be _the best_ ship ever. Then Franky would join them…. _Franky_ didn't know that. No one was going to tell him, either.

It took a while, but Luffy finally noticed they were alone. When he did, his wings drooped and he pouted at them both. "No fair."

"Now Luffy, you know you know we're just trying to take care of you." Robin smiled, "Like you did for me."

"Fine. But I don't have to like it." If it was possible, he pouted harder, arms crossed.

"I promise I'll be careful, Luffy." Nami assured him, moving to kneel behind him. She tried not to let it hurt her when he just shrugged one shoulder in reply as he settled in front of her as Robin left the room. First thing she did was unwind the bandages, being sure to avoid catching them on any open wounds that were still there. Luckily most were already closing up and healing well, so that was one less worry. "Ok, I'm going to start. Let me know if I hurt you, alright?"

"Mmm. I trust you." He might have _said_ that, but he still tensed up. He always tensed up, and none of them knew why. They just tried not to take it personally.

"I'll be done before you know it." She assured him again, keeping her tone light as she began, plucking out a broken feather that was covered in some kind of tacky substance. She winced when he flinched ever so slightly. He did it again when she removed the one that had started to split down the middle of the shaft, only that same sticky stuff holding it together. "Did you get into the syrup or something?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Just. You're a little tacky for some reason." The next few feathers were very loose and almost brushed right out, down sticking to her fingers as she worked closer to the skin and tried to ignore the raised lumps she _knew_ was scar tissue. Something caught on her middle finger and before she realized what had even happened Luffy was pulling away from her and there was blood all over her hand.

"OW! Nami!"

"I-I'm sorry!" She gasped, staring at her hand, at the blood. She felt tears prick at her eyes and went to scrub them. _She_ wasn't the one who was hurt, _she_ had no right to cry! That was when she noticed the blood on her other hand, sticky and half dry. She couldn't help the sob that escaped her then. Nami couldn't believe she had hurt Luffy like that and not even noticed! "I'm _so sorry!_ "

"Nami? Are you alright?" Luffy turned his head, looking at her over his wings as she desperately tried to hide her bloody hands. It was no use, of course. He had smelled it, she knew he had. Especially when he turned around. He brought up his knees tight against his chest and firmly tugged on her hands until she showed him. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"N-no… I swear it was an accident! I - the feathers - and -" she looked helplessly at the blood on her hands.

"Oh." Nami cringed. Here it came. She had betrayed his trust, he was going to hate her now. "Sorry."

 _Wait_ , _what_? She stared at him. "Luffy. I _hurt you_." She said slowly. "Why are _you_ apologizing?"

Luffy wrapped his wings around the both of them. "I didn't tell you. So I'm sorry. Then I yelled. I shouldn't have yelled."

Nami sniffed as she tried not to lose her temper, "Tell me what?"

"About molts. Know how feathers are hollow?" She nodded as he picked up the feather that must have gotten caught on her finger. It was still lazily oozing blood. "When a new feather grows in, it needs lots of blood. To get big and strong. See how thick the shaft is?"

At first all she could see was the blood. All his feathers had relatively large shafts anyway. Looking closely though… "Yeah. I guess?"

"It's hard to tell where the blood feathers are on me because my feathers are red anyway, and so are the shafts. Ace is easy because his are orange so they turn kinda rust looking. And Sabo's look purple. I guess Law'd have the same problem as me."

She had to get him to focus. "Alright, so don't pull out the blood feathers. Got it. I'll just… Look for slightly thicker feathers is all."

"Well…" Luffy twirled the bent feather slowly, "Law said if they're broken or damaged they bleed a lot." That explained the tacky feeling of his wings. She paled, thinking of the others that must be hidden among his feathers. "He said that's bad. That damaged ones _have_ to come out. Even if it hurts. So I don't get sick. So new, healthy ones can grow in." He pouted. "I don't like molting."

Nami's thoughts immediately went to the expanse of scar tissue on his wings. "Is that what happened before? Is that why…?" She saw the moment she asked too much. Quickly she explained. "Because I don't want to risk hurting you like that, Luffy! I'll go get Chopper and-"

He smiled, a broken parody of his usual one. "You could _never_ hurt me like that, Nami. None of you guys ever would. One or two blood feathers at a time is _nothing_ compared to what he did to me. He's the real monster."

Suddenly she didn't want to know anymore. Her imagination painted a vivid enough picture with her usually strong Captain shivering against her like he was. She vowed to kill the man who had caused it. Or at least help in causing his death. For now she contented herself with running her fingers through those soft trembling feathers, doing the front as gently as she could. "You gonna be alright if I finish the back?"

"Yep."

"You sure, Luffy? There were a lot of broken feathers and it might hurt a bit. We can always do this later."

He shook his head and refused to meet her eyes. "It's already gonna be a while before I can pull my wings in."

She understood what he didn't say. That he didn't want to be vulnerable again later, too. "Alright." Nami scooted behind him, keeping her hands steady as she worked quickly. A hard task as she tried to ignore the near silent whimpers Luffy made every time she was forced to pull a bleeding quill free. She just kept telling herself it was for the best and would be over soon. Nami still hated it. Every flinch and sniffle made her so angry at the one who'd _scared_ Luffy so bad that years later he was this way. It was over after a few hours though. The floor littered with feathers of all sizes and conditions. "Done!"

"Good!"

"Now to get this - and us - cleaned up. Afterwards we can have a nice hot-"

"Quick, hide Luffy! A big shot Marine is heading this way!" Usopp shouted, shoving his head in the door.

"WHAT?! _WHERE?!_ "

"Cool!"

Nami smacked the back of Luffy's head. " _Not_ cool, you idiot! You said your wings were going to be stuck _out_ , remember?"

"Oh yeah… Oh well."

"Gahhhh!" Usopp jumped nearly a foot in the air at the sound of something slamming into a wall before running into the room and ripping the curtain down before throwing it at Nami. "Here! Use this! Pretend he's a… A couch or something! I don't know, just _think of something_ while I try to buy more time!"

Because a Marine was totally going to buy _that_. Still. She covered Luffy in the curtain before going to the window and ripping the other one down. That one she tossed out, being sure to leave the window open. Maybe she'd get lucky and the Marine would think Luffy had already fled. If not, it did give them a way out. She barely had time to drape herself on Luffy's covered form, earning a giggle while he squirmed. "Ssshhh-iit!" She covered, elbowing her Captain just as the Marine barged in, breaking the door.

"I knew there had to be more of you Pirate Scum around!" The man was grinning at her, and even though she was offended she wasn't about to protest. This guy was scary on a level C-9 just _hadn't_ been. Nami held her ground though and glared at him, doing her level best to look unimpressed. "Tell me girl, where's your Captain?"

"How the hell would I know? He _obviously_ didn't think you were worth his time."

The grin slipped, replaced with a more serious look as blue eyes flicked over to the open window and back to her. "Flew the coop and left his crew behind, did he? Typical."

"HEY! Watch it, bastard. You don't know the first thing about our Captain, so don't act like you do."

"I know he's a dangerous man." The Marine was frowning now. "I've dealt with his type before. Possessive, violent men who'll lash out at those around them. Tell me, does he hurt you?" He asked, nodding to her hands. It pissed her off how he just _assumed_ Luffy would do something like that. "I can help you-"

"You can go to hell." She spat. "You think _he's possessive?_ Let me tell you something! He's _OURS_ and you'll get your hands on him over our cold dead bodies. My Captain is loyal and caring to those he calls 'friend', but you Marines don't care about that. You never do."

For a moment they just stared at each other. Nami even forgot that Luffy was there he was so still. It was the Marine who broke eye contact. He looked down, and at first she thought nothing of it. Not until he knelt. "I know one other thing about your Captain. And this one is a fact." He picked up a feather that was easily as large as her forearm and as thick as his wrist. Her stomach dropped as he smiled, twirling the feather slowly. "He's got red wings."

"You can't prove that!"

"There are enough rumors about Strawhat that this right here is all the proof I need."

"It's…. It's mine!" The curtain shifted slightly and she scrambled to keep it in place.

If the Marine noticed he pretended not to as he stood. "You're no 'D'." He tucked the feather into his jacket and turned away. "Tell your Captain to be more careful. Other Marines won't be as forgiving. They don't know Winged Ds like we do, girl. They just see monsters, and they'll kill him." He slowly made for the door. "I'll just tell them he got away this time. Senny's gonna be pissed."

"Why… Why are you helping us?"

"Because sometimes the right thing to do is the wrong thing in the eyes of Justice." He sounded so very very sad when he said that, and when he glanced back at her she could have sworn there were tears in his eyes even as he smirked. "I think your couch just fell asleep."

Dammit Luffy was snoring. She turned beet red even as the man left the room. Of _course_ Luffy'd fall asleep! But in a way, it made her feel good. He trusted her enough to protect him no matter what.


	15. Chapter 15

_**SABO**_

Sabo hummed a wordless tune to himself as he strolled down the slightly crowded streets, keeping an eye out for his brothers. While they'd set a date for their meeting - two years to the day from when they set out from this very archipelago - they hadn't set an hour. That would have been foolish. It was only upon arriving he realized they'd also neglected to set a _location_ as well. Not that he was _too_ bothered by the fact. They'd all find each other eventually, even if it would end more than likely in a bar brawl.

Speaking of his brothers, he was pretty sure that fellow over there with the really long nose was on Luffy's crew. His name was… Sogeking or something ridiculous like that? Interest peaked he started to make his way over. If he was wrong, it wasn't like he was really wasting any time. But if he was right, he'd practically found one of his brothers already. The teen in question was animatedly chatting with what had to be the strangest thing Sabo had ever seen.

"Excuse me… Is that?... Are you a Skeleton?"

The tall collection of bones that for some reason was able to walk and talk _and_ had an afro _laughed_ and nodded. "I do seem to be."

"That is SO COOL!" Sabo exclaimed. This guy _had_ to be part of Luffy's crew. It would be a _crime_ if he wasn't. That's it. If he wasn't, Sabo was gonna kidnap him and _make_ him a Strawhat. He… should probably ask first. "Hey. You're a Strawhat Pirate, right?"

"Yohohoho! I'm Brook! The Musician! How did you know?"

"Oh man, Luffy is _so lucky_. Ace is going to _flip_ when he meets you…. Law… might try to keep you for himself. We're gonna keep you away from Law." He said mostly to himself before turning to Brook. "I'm Sabo. Luffy's brother. One of them, at least."

"Ahhh, Luffy said something about all of you meeting up here." Sogeking was smiling, and suddenly he recognized the guy. It was that wuss from way back - one of the ones he'd left Luffy with. Boy had he ever changed! "That's why you're here, right?"

"You could say that. A bit of sightseeing, too. It's Usss- Usopp, was it?"

"You remembered!"

"Of course I did, I left Luffy with you, didn't I?" He looked again at Brook, and grinned, "But it seems like you've gained a few other crewmembers I don't know."

"Well, Luffy-San is very persuasive." Brook put in. "If you'd like to join us, we were about to meet up with everyone. Ah, except for Luffy-san and Chopper-kun."

"Oh?"

Usopp lead the way, ironically heading towards the one place the D brothers would have gathered eventually anyway. _Rip-Off was_ somewhere they had spent a while, after all. "Chopper heard about the theme park, and since Luffy's been there before, he offered to take him...He has been there before, right?" The sniper looked worried.

Sabo laughed, "Yeah, a few times. Don't worry, he knows how to behave in there, _and_ he'll keep this Chopper safe, too."

"Oh good. I almost went with them, but Chopper's been kinda down lately and Luffy's really good at cheering him up. Not that any of us let on we _know_ Chopper's upset or anything." The dark haired teen grinned fondly, and Sabo got the impression Brook was too. "He's like our kid brother." He could understand that, and with Luffy busy, it was a good chance to meet his crew and see how his baby brother was doing out in the world.


	16. Chapter 16

**CHOPPER**

"Thanks for going with me, Luffy!" Chopper beamed up at his Captain. "I know you wanted to find your brothers right away."

Luffy's grin was impossibly wide, "Nah, I had a lot of fun! Besides, you're Nakama!"

The tiny deer guessed for Luffy that did explain everything. To Luffy and the rest of the Strawhats their Nakama was family, too. A slightly odd dysfunctional family but it worked for them. He just hoped Luffy's brothers were as understanding of it. He could only imagine how much they'd been looking forward to seeing him. For a moment, his ears flicked down as he remembered trailing after the herd he'd been born into - wanting so desperately to be excepted and greeted like a herd mate. Luffy bumped into him, causing him to look up at the teen and see a warm smile. He wondered not for the first time if Winged Ds felt something like that, that instinct to be a part of something bigger. "Sorry."

"Don't be. I said I was gonna take you, and I'm Captain, right? So. Captain's orders!" Luffy nodded at his own logic. His smile became a little softer, "Do they hurt? Your Antlers? We can go back if it's too much. We'll just rent a bon chari tomorrow."

"No! I'm fine!" Chopper protested. In truth they were feeling a little tender, which was actually a _good_ thing. They already were as large as last year's rack and tender ment they were still growing. Even if they were still spongy and covered in soft velvet he could put up with it for a healthy rack. They were _growing_ , and when the last one had dropped, so very far away from any fall or winter islands, Chopper had been terrified he'd never grow another set. He still hadn't regretted setting sail with his Nakama, but the potential loss of his antlers hit him hard. Knowing his body had adjusted like Luffy had said it would to life on the seas made him feel like he could take on the world…. in maybe another month. Right now he wanted to have fun with Luffy, and he didn't want to take another day away from him. It wouldn't be fair, no matter what his Captain had said.

"Ok then! To the bon charis!" Luffy cheered, scooping Chopper up with the claim that it was faster this way. Chopper knew it was to protect him, though, and just grinned wider. He loved Luffy so much sometimes.

The bon charis were surprisingly cheap to rent. Nami had given them more than enough money for the day, and the reindeer had expected this part of the planned events to eat into their budget more than lunch had, despite how much Luffy ate. So he was quite shocked when they were able to rent _two_ of the bubble cars. Luffy'd just laughed it off and told him that the bubbles were a Mystery Thing that happened on Shabondy all the time, so the guy selling the car could make tons for almost nothing. Somehow he got the feeling there was a bit more to it than that, but he was willing to accept his Captain's word. Especially when Luffy challenged him to a race! It made him feel less guilty, because he _knew_ one of them was going to crash.

The race had started out fine and it was a lot of fun. Chopper had the advantage at first, since Luffy wasn't very good at the tight turns that were necessary to avoid running into people. But the moment they hit an area with more open space that had changed. Luffy took off, but not so fast as to lose him. They darted around tree trunks and past shops, dodging the occasional pedestrian or other bon chari in their way. It was freeing, almost like galloping on an open field, and Chopper felt that he could go on for hours playing. But then something weird happened. His bon chari started to wobble and when he went to correct it, the controls didn't work. "Luffy!" He yelped as the whole thing plowed into a raised tree root. He thought the bubble was supposed to _pop_ on impacts like that, but it _didn't_! It must have been jarred loose right before because it was rising up really quickly, still going in the same direction. Chopper was officially scared. "Help!"

"Chopper!" Luffy raced after him, his own bon chari forgotten as he shoved his way past people, eyes never leaving the young frightened reindeer that was getting higher up. The bubble made a strange noise right before Chopper noticed a look of determination enter Luffy's eyes. "I've got you!"

He couldn't help it, he closed his eyes when he felt the bubble give out under him, sending him downwards at an angle. Chopper was a doctor. He _knew_ a vertical drop from this height would have been bad, but at the speed he'd been going and the angle he was falling he'd be dead without his guard point. He had no rumballs though, and his _only_ regret he found was Luffy would feel responsible. Until something caught him. Opening his eyes and seeing Luffy's red vest at first he thought his Captain had rocketed to him, but there had been no impact. And they were still too far up… Luffy jerked up slightly before dropping a bit and veering to the left and it dawned on him what had happened. "You- you're flying!"

"I wasn't going to let you get hurt!" Luffy protested.

"Luffy, _you're flying!_ You've never flown before!" Chopper pointed out, excited for his friend. This was big! The young D had been trying to fly since Chopper had met him, and everyone on the crew knew it kind of bothered him that he couldn't. Then he remembered where they were. "You have to land!"

"Can't." His tone was dark, "Being followed already." They rose up sharply before dropping rapidly. "Woah, weird."

This wasn't good. Luffy was in danger not only from the people following them, but of hurting himself since it was his first flight. If he over did it… "Maybe land in a tree?"

"I'll try. Hold on." Chopper did, clutching the vest between his hooves as they slowed. Something must have happened though because they jerked sharply to the right. He felt as Luffy tried to correct, flapping madly, but whatever happened he didn't have the experience to know how to compensate for it and instead the Winged D ended up stalling out and dropping like a stone. "Uuugh…."

"Luffy! What happened! Are you alright!" The young doctor tried to climb out of his friend's arms only for them to tighten slightly around him. "Bubble… landed on my back… Gonna… try to make a run for it… hold on."

"Let me help!"

"NO!" It was an order from his Captain.

"It _is_ one!"

"Well, will you look at that!"

"What's it got in it's arms?"

"Who the hell cares?"

"Hey, ain't he that Strawhat brat?"

"Winged D _and_ a wanted Pirate? I say we kill him."

They were laughing. Chopper risked a look and they were surrounded. These people looked really really dangerous. He didn't like the way they were looking at his Captain. He wanted to make them stop! "Chopper, it's fine. I know you're not weak, but right now you gotta let me take care of you." Because of his antlers. He swallowed thickly, feeling guilt well. "Like how you guys take care of me when I need it. You _always_ make sure I get enough iron and calcium for my molts. I won't let them take advantage of you when you can't fight. It's not fair." Slowly he nodded, seeing the logic. Luffy would keep him safe, and when they got out of this, he'd personally oil every feather for him. He felt his Captain gather himself to take off.

A flurry of wing flaps and they were airborne again, up and out of the reach of swords. Guns would be useless and they were _safe_ as long as they could get far enough away. Until they crashed back down to earth, covered in a net lined in seastone. Luffy curled tighter around Chopper, trying to shield him from it even as he struggled against the blows the rained down. "What are you bastards doing!" A voice cut through the din, and Chopper felt a wave of relief. Help had arrived, he was sure of it. "You'll damage the merchandise! You morons got _any_ idea how much a Winged D goes for? We'll be rich!"

If possible Luffy struggled harder. He didn't think it was possible for someone who'd eaten a devil fruit to fight back so hard when wrapped in seastone. He kicked and punched, even lashed out with the wrist joints of his wings until a separate person grabbed them and held on. Still that didn't stop the young Pirate. He made them fear him, and nothing they could do would make him stop. Chopper heard the ones who held back - already injured - whisper how the stories were true and Winged Ds really _were_ monsters. He felt vicious pride at that and snapped at fingers as well when he could. They left the slavers no choice but to drag them to where they planned to sell Luffy off while the Pirate Captain cussed them out and tore into them from _within_ a seastone net. It was the stuff legends were built on.

"What on earth is this? You know we don't accept wild…. things…. here!"

"Don't get your panties in a wad and use your eyes, man! OY! Watch your fingers, I SAID WATCH YOUR- IT'S YOUR OWN FOOL FAULT IF HE BIT IT OFF THEN YOU MORON!" The man who'd spoken of selling Luffy was talking to someone. "What we got here is a _honest to God_ Winged D! None other then that Strawhat brat."

"Really?" Chopper glared at the man in a three piece suit that was sneering at them. "There have been rumors. Can you prove it however?"

"What? That he's Strawhat? He's got that tanuki pet of theirs."

An eye roll. "I can see that, you sorry excuse for Human excrement. I mean if he is in fact a Winged D. For all I know these so called 'wings' of his are a hoax on your part."

"How the hell would I do that?"

"You would be surprised what I have seen."

"Fine." The man nodded and disappeared from view. Luffy made a pained sound, halfway between a wheeze and a snarl and Chopper _knew_ the bastard was doing something to his wings. "You and me Berry, we'll hold these. DO NOT let go, you asshole. And keep the net on as much as possible. The rest of you, start to untangle him. For for GOD'S SAKE watch your fingers!"

Luffy fought them, and at first Chopper thought it was to get free. He eagerly helped, shoving the net off when he could and growling at the bastards who'd done this. When he found himself free and turned to see the net still around Luffy's head he went to remove it, a determined frown on his face. His Captain shoved him away. "GO!"

"NO!"

"What the- it talks?! Grab it!"

"CAPTAIN'S ORDERS, CHOPPER! GO! AH! GET OUT OF HERE!" Luffy punched a man who'd yanked his hair.

"I won't leave you!"

"I couldn't live with myself if they sold you, too!" Their eyes met, and he saw the anguish in those brown depths. He remembered suddenly the scars on Luffy's wings. The ones he never talked about. The scars on his legs that matched his brother's... "I'll be fine!"

He didn't believe that for a second. But, but if he ran, he could get help. If he stayed, Luffy would be too focused on protecting _him_ and not himself. If he ran, he could find Zoro and the rest. They'd be able to save him. Chopper shifted to his walking point without breaking eye contact and didn't even feel it at first when his antler was nicked by a chain. He reared up, hooves flailing to do as much damage as he could before he took off. As he bolted out the door he heard, "...him go. ...Just a deer…. more money." and ran faster.


	17. Chapter 17

_**ACE**_

His little brother's crew was just as funny as he remembered it. More so, since somehow Luffy got a robot - sorry, _cyborg_ \- and a _talking Skeleton!_ HOW AWESOME was that? Of course the first thing he did was ask if the guy pooped. He didn't really understand why Law, who he'd met at the market because _hello talking polar bear!_ , had smacked him but Luffy's crew had just laughed it off. Apparently Luffy had asked the same thing. Then the stories had began. He couldn't believe Law lived in a submarine of all things! With a Mink! He'd only heard of them so far. Sabo, he wasn't shocked at all that he'd impressed this 'Resistance Leader'. Apparently he was traveling with a Fishman who was laying low and a lady friend of his who was _NOT_ his girlfriend.

"I heard koala's mate for life." Ace teased, not even being sure if it was true or not himself.

"They don't and SHE IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND! She's just a friend!"

Law smirked. "Whatever you say little brother." He ruffled Sabo's hair as easily as they had ruffled his feathers.

Sabo snagged his hand and studied it. "Interesting Tattoos. 'DEATH' though? And the one on the back of your hand doesn't match your Roger. You need to talk to your artist."

Law tutted as he pulled his hand free. "I knew the symbolism would go over your head, brother dear. The spokes of course are us, and the center is Cora-san who brought us all together."

"Oh. That's actually really…. touching." Ace looked closer. "You should help me come up with something."

"Really? You don't feel quite complete with the Whitebeard mark on your shoulders?" Law poked him, "I see you liked it _so much_ you had to go and get both styles."

Sabo laughed. "He's got you there. Really, what were you thinking, Ace? Purple? It clashes. Horribly."

"Shut up! That's the color if Oyaji's flag. And I wanted to get the simple version in orange but Izo said orange tattoos don't really _look_ orange and they fade fast so I had to go with black!"

"Your friend Izo is right about that. Yellow is the same way." Law was trying hard not to pout as he and Sabo started to laugh.

They sat a moment in companionable silence, the Strawhats having moved to the other side of the bar to give them space. Ace was feeling a little anxious, wanting to go out and look for their youngest brother. He knew if his crew was here he'd show up, sooner rather than later. Just had to wait. Except he felt like he'd been waiting forever… probably because of how long it had been since he'd seen the little idiot last. A glance at Law showed the eldest shifting uneasily as well and he felt bad. It'd been longest for him, and despite his usually caustic words Law was a very caring brother. He nudged both brothers, making to say something about how he was sure the idiot was eating or something when a deer literally broke down the door. His brain stuttered to a halt as the three of them stared at the wide eyed bleeding mess that was panting heavily.

" _CHOPPER!_ " Every single one of the Strawhats shouted in unison, rushing forward. "What happened? You're hurt! Where's Luffy?!"

 _Where's Luffy._ Chopper… he was the little doctor of the Strawhats. Ace blinked slowly, feeling like he was missing something even as he heard Sabo's sharp intake of breath.

"I- I tried!" The deer wheezed, sides heaving.

Law strode forward, hands running over the quivering flanks. "Be silent. Everyone give him some room to breathe-"

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" The deer bellowed, tossing his rack, "THEY HAVE LUFFY!"

" _WHO has-!_ " Flames spirted to life, his wings flared, large and intimidating in the confines of the building.

"Ace, stop." Sabo's hand was on his shoulder, enough force to bruise bone but he didn't care. "You're not helping."

"But Luffy!"

"Can _wait_ a few more minutes while I attend to his Nakama. He's in velvet, Ace. He can't afford to be losing so much blood." Law's voice was sharp and jarring enough that he really _looked_ at the reindeer. The poor little guy was wobbling on his feet and his antler was bleeding sluggishly.

"Rushing off won't solve anything. That goes to _all_ of you as well." Sabo added, ever level headed. "We need to help your friend and we need a plan."

Damn if his brothers weren't right, but still. His wings fluffed in agitation and Law's own echoed it. " _Luffy….!_ "


	18. Chapter 18

_**HYOUZOU**_

Most of those sitting in the cells lining the walls of the Human Auction house were resigned to their fate. With the bomb collars in place, even those who hadn't given up all hope knew better than to act out. If the guards didn't get you, the others would. After all, one explosion in an exposed space could kill them all and very few had fallen so low that death no longer mattered. Hyouzou fell into the third category, if it could be called that. The octopus Merman was desperately trying to think of a way out of this situation. Not for himself, though he'd take it if he could swing that, too. No. Madame Shyarly had been caught as well and it was his duty to get her out of there. Hachan was obviously harboring similar thoughts about his own lady love, Keimi.

Though Keimi _had_ indirectly lead to them getting caught, Hyou didn't blame 'd all been swimming too close to that ship - one they'd _thought_ was a fishing ship - when gone back to scoop up a young Fishman boy who'd been caught in a net. It turned out _not_ be be a fishing ship, and in the resulting confusion of three Merfolk attacking along with a Fishman had allowed the boy to escape but ended up with them captured. _That_ he blamed on himself. He was a mercenary! The best Merman swordsman there was, as Hachi was the best Fishman one. They should have been able to _do something_!

Screams of rage and shouting pulled him from his thoughts and he looked up at the commotion. The slavers were dragging someone in and at first he couldn't believe his eyes. Wings, big strong wings working themselves free of the net as the person overpowered those foolish enough to try and cage a Winged D. His heart leapt, knowing they'd be saved. There was no way Whitebeard would stand for his son Ace being taken-.

"Oh dear, he's so young." Shyarly muttered.

"Ace is Twenty, what are you talking about?" He whispered back.

Hachi made a distressed sound, "That's not him. That's that kid I told you about. The one who beat Arlong… mnnnnnuuu…." Looking again as the wings finally beat free of the net he saw them clearly and noticed they were in fact a vibrant red, not shaded by the net like he had thought. There was a tense moment while the teen stood there glaring and Hyouzou realized how young he was. How small. Then the slavers were on him again as they tried to beat him into submission. "They're going to kill him."

"Somebody has to do something!" Keimi begged, tugging on one of Hachan's arms.

"Don't." Shyarly only had eyes for him, though. She already knew what he was planning.

"Will he make it out?" He asked, low enough that Keimi couldn't hear.

She shook her head, her massive tail twitching. "He'll die before he reaches the door. But it's still a better fate than what awaits him."

"I'd rather it still be his fate than ours."

"That is not your call to make!"

Hyouzou knew she was right, but he still called out. "Guard! Guard!"

"You trying to start trouble, Fish? Want I should blow your head off?"

"If you set us free, I'll subdue the Winged one for you."

"Eh? You think I'd believe a Fish like-"

"What's going on over here?" The manager of the establishment was a pompous Human, and it was good to see him with a bloodied nose. "Can't you handle a few slaves?"

Hyou didn't wait for the slaver to talk, "Let us go and I swear on my honor I'll stop him for you." He nodded to where the D still struggled.

"You think we can't manage one measly _boy_?"

"I think you can't do it without killing him."

The manager's beady eyes studied him for a moment then the ongoing fight before looking at him again. "And you can?" He nodded, sure of it. Ace was not immune to his toxin, and even after a few exposures it still made him dizzy. "Do it then."

"And you'll free us?"

"I don't see why I should." He sniffed.

"Then I won't help."

"Do it, or die." The man fingered that dreaded button, but Hyou met his gaze levely. He wasn't afraid to die, and if he couldn't buy anyone's freedom then he wasn't going to doom the kid.

"Mmmuuuu. If I help, we can stop him without hurting him more." Hachan added, flexing his arms in a way that made his point clear.

"Undamaged merchandise does sell for more… Very well. If you do this, I will let one of you go. The small Mermaid I suppose."

"NO!" Both Mermaids protested, though for different reasons.

"Shyar is larger… won't she be harder to sell?" Keimi asked, "I mean, how many people have the space for a tank that size?"

"Keimi-" Shyarly looked heartbroken.

"You do have a point." His words were followed by a pained shout. "Fine! Just hurry up or the deal is off." He snapped, opening the cage door.

Hating himself wasn't anything too new for a mercenary. Sometimes you did things you really wish you didn't have to. Rushing a boy who was only trying to win his freedom was one of those things. But it was him or Shyarly, and not only did _he_ need her to be free, but she was so important to their island. So very, very important. It made it easier to slip under the wildly flailing fists and keep the teen's attention fixed on him while Hatchan got into position. In seconds they were ready and moved as one.

Hatchan came in low from behind, using one set of arms to pull the kid's legs out from under him, another to drag his wings in close to his body, and the last set to catch his hands that were thrown out to stop the now uncontrolled fall. It was a practiced, calculated move he'd used on Ace in spars before, but unlike Ace, this Winged D didn't know to twist into it. "I've got him, Hyou!" Hatchi sounded strained as those powerful wings pushed against his arms. "Please…."

Instead he landed on his knees with a shout right at the perfect level for Hyouzou's legs, already damp with the neurotoxin he could secrete at will. He was sure the kid thought the plea was directed to him, but really, it was for the kid's sake. Raising a leg, he rested it against the boy's face. Skin contact was best, and he didn't want to overdo it on such a small brat, wings or no. "Sorry, kid-" He grunted when quick as a snake the head turned and the boy bit down hard on his leg, drawing blood. "I really am."

"B-basta-ard…." The kid hissed, eyes losing the sharp focus and drive from just a few moments ago as he went limp. Still Hatchan held tight, waiting to see if he was going to seize up. The two of them had done their part, and he was sure they'd be called on again to do the same, but hell if he was going to risk overdosing the kid.

"That's quite enough of that! Back to your cell, the two of you!" The manager dared to swat at them even as slavers pulled them away from the still form. They went unwillingly and slowly. "I'll free the shark bitch as soon as we get him secure. Someone get a collar on him! And ropes. I've got an idea on how to show off these pretty little wings without losing too many feathers. You're going to make me filthy rich, you little monster."

Hyouzou made the mistake of looking back at the kid when he entered the cage. Splayed wings and a crumpled body were bad enough. Combined with aman yanking the boy's head back while a heavy bomb collar was snapped in place? None of it made him think of any kind of monster. He just saw a victim; one he had helped create, God help him. That image would haunt him forever, and he knew it. But looking at Shyarly, he also knew it was worth it. It had to be.


	19. Chapter 19

_**SABO**_

"Alright. We should still have time." Sabo said, getting off the Denden. Koala had been eager to help and was even now staking out the Human Auction house where they had taken his little brother. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself before he crushed the snail. "She said the auction isn't going to be till tomorrow morning, first thing." Because they'd cancelled the one for this afternoon. To drum up more excitement for _selling a Winged D - selling his brother!_ Another deep breath.

"Then why are we waiting? We should bust in there, set the place on fire, and get Lu out of there!" Ace slammed a fist onto the table, cracking it even as the Strawhats were nodding along.

Law was the one to veto that plan, saving Sabo the pain of pointing out the flaw, since _he_ wanted to do much the same. "They'll be expecting _something_ before the auction. They've got a Winged D for sale. We're exceedingly rare as I'm sure you're aware, Ace. People are going to be trying up until the auction to break in in order to kidnap… the specimen." There Law went trying to distance himself. "Or kill him."

Sabo hadn't thought of _that_ possibility and he thought he might have blacked out for a second. Because the next thing he knew he had Law by the throat. "WHAT?!"

"It's a possibility. One that they will be preparing for." Law's eyes held the same murderous intent he felt at anyone who _dared_ threaten his family like that. "Which _means_ the easiest time to _get_ to him is going to be during the auction itself."

"So what, we just walk right in there and what, _buy_ him? I think he's going to be a little out of our price range." Nami spat out, "Even _if_ we sold _Sunny_ and he'd never forgive us for that."

"No, but it wouldn't hurt for some of us to be there. There's going to be people who come just to watch, I'm sure. And we can't be the only one's thinking it'd be the easiest time to make a move. If I were one to hold murderous interests and didn't care about my own life…" Law trailed off, meeting her eyes with a calm none of them felt.

Zoro nodded decisively, "Right. We'll get inside and make sure no one in the audience gets any funny ideas." His lips drew back over his teeth, "Except for us, that is."

"That still leaves the backup." Sabo said, "Shakky is trying to get Shanks on the phone right now, but there's no guarantee she'll be able to reach him _or_ he'll make it." It was easy to deduce where the woman had vanished to the moment Chopper had come in with the news.

"Shanks?! As in the Shichibukai?"

"Yeah, he's an old friend." Ace waved Usopp off. "Pop's is docked at 16. I know he'll help."

"What a coincidence, I myself am docked at 17. My crew should be more than eager to help." Law glanced at Sabo.

Who had to shake his head. "Resistance, remember? We usually travel in small groups. I've already sent Hack to where _Thousand Sunny_ is docked to get it coated _now_ , and Koala is playing spy. That's the best I can do right now." He felt useless until Ace hugged him.

"I wouldn't have thought of our getaway, and I'm sure stripes would have just tried to fit us all on that sinking rock of his." He hugged him again. "You always manage to plan ahead."

Sabo offered a watery grin, "Thanks."

"It's our roles as brothers. You plan ahead, I handle the immediate planning, Ace implements those plans and Luffy improvises on them." Law's wings enveloped them both. "We'll get him back. We're not alone."

"No. We're not. I just wish we had more help...you know they're going to call the Marines in if they haven't already. And if _he_ finds out about this…"

The blond cook of the Strawhats cleared his throat. "Actually, we might know someone." He blushed slightly, looking chagrined, "But they don't exactly like us. Only Luffy."

There was a moment of silence and then Nico Robin stood, a determined look on her face. "I'll go. It's for Luffy, they _will_ help. Even if I have to break every bone in their arms before they'll talk to me." Her smile was a little scary, but no one argued with her when she walked towards the door. "I'll be back in time for the auction."

"Right….that gives us until tomorrow at ten to get ready. Let's get moving, people!" Sabo clapped his hands together, mind already racing on what else would need to be done to keep everyone safe after they rescued Luffy. Because they _WOULD_. They couldn't fail.


	20. Chapter 20

_**GARP**_

Garp _hated_ the idea of slavery. With a passion. He saw no Justice in it, just misery and hate. Unfortunately because the Celestial Dragons implemented it and condoned it, the Marines were forced to at the very least turn a blind eye to it. Turning a blind eye he could usually live with, even if he tended to drink a little more on days he saw slavery. Sabaody was one of those places Garp drank _a lot_. But Corazon had said if he came here around now he'd get to see something amazing, and while normally he didn't believe Pirate Scum as a general rule he had hoped to see the Winged Ds the man had saved. He felt it would bring him closure in some way, to know that Doflamingo hadn't won, even though he'd murdered his grandsons. That was the only reason he was on Sabaody when the call came in that the Human Auction house needed a Marine guard.

He'd tried to ignore it, but Sengoku himself had ordered him to go. Apparently whoever they were selling was a big deal and they were expecting trouble. Secretly he hoped they had been dumb enough to try and sell off one of Whitebeard's kids. The manager of the place was a real weasel of a man, with beady eyes and greasy hair. His smile was oily and the moment he realized exactly who Garp was he went from condescending to ingrating. The worst type of scum in his book, worse than a Pirate. "I'm Reggae, the owner of this fine establishment. Thank you so much for coming. You see, we've had some… problems already and the auction is not until tomorrow."

"What, the poor bastard trying to escape?"

Reggae continued on like he hadn't said anything, "All sorts of hoodlums have been trying to get in here to get at the merchandise. Really, it's bad for business and I don't have the manpower to keep the slaves in line _and_ protect the goods from the outside fools as well. Which is where you come in."

"Wait, the others are out to get this guy as well?" Garp's teeth hurt already from grinding them.

Now Reggae looked at him, "Of course. It _is_ a Winged D, after all." Garp stopped moving, his first thoughts going to Corazon and the brats he'd saved. The scumbag misinterpreted his look. "Not to worry, it's harmless for now. As luck would have it we recently acquired some Merfolk and a Fishman. Among them was Madame Shyarly, despite my _strict_ words to avoid her, the King, Queen, and their brood. Only a fool would attempt to sell one of _those_ , especially when it's hard enough selling Merfolk and Fishfolk as it is under Whitebeard's nose. I don't care how profitable it would be, the man would bring war over them." All that was fascinating but didn't help the pit in Garp's stomach, nor did it tell him how the D was subdued.

"Yeah?" He managed to get out. It seemed to be enough.

"The Merman happens to be an octopus type, as is the Fishman. In exchange for Shyarly's freedom they agreed to help." So he had tricked them. "Working together they were able to prevent the Winged D from reaching the exit without resorting to deadly force. The Merman also apparently secretes a toxin that is very effective."

"It will wear off." He could have kicked himself for saying it outloud.

Reggae was nodding, however. "My employer had mentioned that, which is why we've given it other drugs as well. No need for the little monster to get used to the toxin quite yet. Not when I'm thinking of selling those two as accessories to control it."

Garp swallowed thickly, easily guessing who Reggae's boss was. "Can I see him? The Winged D?"

"I don't see why not. I assure you, he's not going anywhere, though." He was lead down a line of cells. The first few were cramped and full while the next were surprisingly. At last they reached the last two; also occupied but not the the extent as the others. The first contained a Mermaid, a Merman and a Fishman, all looking angry. Angry at themselves. The last cell held the Winged D. "As you can see, he's quite out of it."

Red wings drooped low on the floor, dirt clinging to the damaged feathers and turning the ends brown as the mop of black hair rested against a thin chest. The famous strawhat's rim could be seen over one shoulder. "Strawhat."

"Well, you know the rumors."

Yes, he did. Which is why he _never_ called the Pirate by his other name. It hurt too much. Still, the poor kid. "Let me in there. I need his hat. Prove to the higher-ups he's not a threat anymore."

"Oh, fine. I doubt the Marines will be able to pay the asking price, anyway. But watch out, it bites."

He really wanted to punch the man. But Garp knew now was not the time or the place. Slowly he approached, watching as the Merman and Fishman tensed up. Apparently despite their reluctant part of this they felt protective of the brat. "I'm not going to hurt him." He said, glancing at where Reggae had been standing to find the man gone, apparently to deal with some other issue. That was a relief, even if he was locked in right now.

"Then why are you here?"

It was a good question, and he didn't have an answer. Instead he worked on getting the hat free. "You stupid brat. Should have listened to me…"

"Mnnnnnn- Chopper…" One wing shifted weakly before going still.

"What the hell did they give him?"

"Who knows?" The Mermaid answered with a sniff. "They just… poured it down his throat. He choked, it was awful."

"I should have just let them kill him." The Merman glared at the floor. "These Humans have no _honor_."

"What do you expect, they're slavers." Garp repled, bitterly. "Where's his crew?"

The Fishman answered, "They brought one in, a deer. But it got away." Good on him. "His brother's going to be pissed."

His head snapped up, "Brother?"

"Mmmnnnuuu. A blond. He came after Arlong after Luffy defeated him. He was _really_ angry that Arlong knew he was a Winged D." He cocked his head to the side. "I think his name is Sabo…?"

"Shit, not _Sabo_ , Sabo?" the Merman shook his head. "That means this poor bastard is one of Ace's brothers. The guy would _not shut up_ about those three brothers-"

"Wait!" Garp cut him off, looking again at those large red wings. Gently he raised Strawhat's head. "His brother's are Ace and Sabo?"

"And Law." Added the Mermaid. "Ace doesn't get along with Law…."

He didn't know who Law was beyond a vague idea of a bounty poster but… "Luffy?"

Brown eyes blinked open before rolling back. He was too far under, and Garp knew it was a ridiculous coincidence. It could be, but things never worked out like that. He probably just went by a shortened version of his name or something… "Yur white…." the teen muttered. "Law - s'z meanz- sick." He panted and squirmed weakly. "Sick - Jiji?"

"No…" He choked out, running a calloused hand over the mop of dark hair. "I just got old…"

"Mmm'K…" Luffy sighed out, going completely limp once more. Garp sat there, studying every line, every feather. He was elated, his grandsons were ALIVE! Luffy was right in front of him, to think he'd wasted all those years -

"Are you done? There are people trying the back door again, and it's your job to stop them!" Reggae's voice brought him crashing back to reality. A reality where, yes, his grandsons were alive, but one was about to be sold off. And Garp was expected to make sure that happened. He looked at Luffy again, clutching the hat close to his chest. "If he's killed before the auction, I'll have _your_ head!" The auction. That's right… he only had to keep up the act until then. And anyone breaking in was just as likely to kill Luffy in this state. He could do this.

"Sorry about that. Just a little overwhelming."

"Hmph. Just do your job."

"Oh. I will."


	21. Chapter 21

_**LUFFY**_

It hurt. _Everything_ hurt. Luffy let out a moan and tried to sit up, wings flopping uselessly when his brain caught up to the fact he already was sitting up. He moaned, holding his head and noticed his hands were cuffed together. For a second he didn't understand, but then it came back and he shuddered. He'd been captured, and he was going to be sold. He whined low in his throat.

"It looks like it is awake, Young Master." He tried to find the person talking but his head hurt so much and his vision was so blurry. "Are you sure you wish to speak to it?"

"Are you questioning me?" A shudder ran down Luffy's back. He _knew_ that voice. It haunted his nightmares, and he couldn't stop the whine that escaped him for some reason.

"Never, Young Master!" He heard the sound of whatever cell they had tossed him into open up and only one set of footsteps approach. The man was almost on top of him before he could make the person out, and it _wasn't_ that man. Tension left him, but only just a bit. "The Master wants to talk to you."

He wanted to protest, but the words stuck in his throat, ending in a choked groan sound. A disembodied voice laughed at him, and his eyes fell on the Denden Mushi being held out. "Having trouble talking? Is it the drugs, mmmm?" More laughter, "Or the fear? Imagine my _surprise_ when I heard the rumor that Strawhat Luffy was a Winged D… And then here you are, a _red Winged D_ … You can fly now, hmmm? My how you've grown. It's a real shame what's happened, and I'd be happy to call this whole auction off, all you have to do is come home Cloud."

Luffy whined, terrified. Being sold off was scary enough, but going back to the hellhole was worse. He _couldn't_ go back, it would kill him. "MY…..NAME….IS…...LUFFY!" He wheezed out, glaring in spite of the shivers that wracked his frame.

"I can see you need to be re-educated, pet." Doflamingo's voice was dark, frientening.

"Go… to… hell…"

"Don't talk to the Young Master like that!"

Cruel cold laughter stayed the man's hand, "Reggae, don't damage the merchandise. He's just squawking like the little bird he is. Remember this… _Luffy_ … I actually _profit_ from letting someone else break you. It's a simple enough matter to insure they keep you alive and able to fly. Beyond that...Well. When we talk again, you'll be _happy_ to come home to roost, _Cloud._ Make sure to stipulate the points of sale, Reggae. Throw in the Mermaid, Merman, and Fishman to sweeten the deal."

"Yes, Young Master."

"I leave the rest to you. I expect a good price." The denden cut out with a finality that had Luffy panting for breath.

He struggled to _move_ , to do something, and finally he managed to push to his feet. He glared at Reggae, plans half formed of rushing him but when he went to take a step forward he stumbled hard. With a sneer the man sidestepped him and shoved hard against one of his drooping wings knocking Luffy to his knees. Before Luffy could recover Reggae was grabbing the back of the heavy collar on his neck. He squirmed as he was dragged to the side of the cage and slammed into the bars. It was disorienting to be so _weak_ and he didn't know why. They'd said something about drugs, but he didn't remember anything past the weird Merman touching him… the same one that was glaring at Reggae from the other side of the bars.

"You're hurting him!" It was a girl… that made it a Mermaid, right?

"Then have your friend use his toxin again." Reggae flippantly replied, standing behind him and - _that was a knife, why was there a knife on his back?-_ he tried to struggle and felt as his vest was cut away, his necklace falling free. "Don't need this. Can't have people thinking you aren't a _real_ one." Fingers ran through his feathers, brushing them up the wrong way and he whined. Or he thought he did, things got fuzzy and painful. "What the hell did you just do you monster?"

"It's you! Whatever you did, please, stop!" The girl was holding his head, when had that happened?

"Kid, Luffy, Look at me." It was the strange Merman. He tried to focus on him, but it was hard when Reggae was bending his wing back and digging his fingers down to the skin. Feeling along it. He refused to cry, but it hurt. Something cold touched his chest, "I'm going to use my toxin, alright?" He shook his head, not wanting to lose himself again. "Just enough to help with the pain. With the crap they gave you, you're hyper sensitive right now."

He didn't want it, even still, but he didn't have a choice. Between one breath and the next everything became distant. He knew that his wing was still being handled, but it was like it wasn't attached to him anymore. Even when the final joint was over extended, it didn't hurt. There was the sound of scissors and he closed his eyes, not wanting to know. He heard the Fishman make an angry sound as something was tightened around his bones on both sides of the joint, multiple large hands caught the wing as it was just dropped. Luffy was beyond caring anymore. He didn't hurt, but now he could focus on how scared he was. He didn't regret getting caught, because he'd saved Chopper. But he was still so terrified. He was alone, and Doflamingo knew where he was. No matter how he tried to tell himself otherwise, he couldn't escape the idea that no matter what he'd end up back there, broken. He must have made some sort of sound, because the Mermaid shushed him, telling him he was alright as his other wing was dropped.

"Well, that should do it for preparations. I'll be back in the morning. Make sure he doesn't die."

"Maybe it'd be better…." The Fishman muttered, and Luffy hated that he agreed.


	22. Chapter 22

_**ZORO**_

The Auction house was obscenely crowded, and it was only by paying a cover charge were they able to get in. Because it was _entertaining_ for these people to sell his Captain. If he could, he would draw his swords right here and now and give these fools a _real_ show. He couldn't though, not with the risk to Luffy in the shape of a bomb collar. Koala was in charge of trying to locate the keys now that everything had started, and if she found them before the other Ds made their move, well then… The Vice Admiral might give them a bit of trouble, but this time with Luffy's life on the line the Strawhats would be ready and willing to kill. They could do this. That's what he kept telling himself as they sat there waiting for it all to begin.

"How can people do this? It's _horrible._ " Nami muttered as yet another person was paraded across stage to be sold off.

"Because there is money in it." Robin might have sounded calm, but it was obvious she was as angry as the rest of them if not more so. "It's going faster than I thought it would."

The was a creak on the seat directly behind them and a familiar voice answered, "That's because they want to get to the main event and they know it won't start till this lot of poor bastards are sold first."

Zoro glared at the Marine who had managed to slip into the seat behind him without him noticing. "You're not going to stop us, old man."

"I'm not here to stop you. I'm here to do what I can to help."

"What?!" Usopp glared at the man, "Last time we saw you you were threatening to bring Luffy in! Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Because, Pirate versus Marine, that's different. We stand for different things. Even if I respect him, I can't approve of what he does. This, though. This is just _wrong_." He sounded _angry_ , and the way he glared at the stage was like it personally offended him. Zoro almost believed him. Almost, except he thought there was more to it? Either way, he was willing to let it slide so long as the man didn't betray them. He glared, hard, hoping to get his point across.

"Now, before we get to the main event, there are a few stipulations our seller has asked me to cover. Firstly, as this is specimen has the ability to _fly_ we will only be selling to people who maintain this unique ability." The crowd as a mass seemed to shout in protest at the thought of losing the chance to kill or maim his Captain. Zoro could feel the growl shaking Chopper's whole body even as the manager held up his hand for silence. "He realizes that this comes as a bit of a disappointment to some of you, however, he's willing to throw in _this_ Mermaid," a tank was wheeled out, revealing a scared Mermaid with green hair and a pink tail, "And this Merman-Fishman matched set for your hardship!" Zoro tensed, recognizing the Fishman from Nami's village.

"Isn't that-?"

"Yeah, it's Hachan." Nami nodded, biting her thumb as the large Fishman was dragged across stage along with a Merman supported by eight tentacle legs. "I don't know the other one. I don't understand. I thought that Merfolk and Fishman brought in a lot of money. Why would they just give them away?"

Garp spat, "Because they want whoever buys him to keep your Captain alive, and those two are _very_ useful for that. Six arms and eight legs along with how strong they are naturally means they're more likely to be able to hold him down than a normal Human. And that Merman creates toxins."

"Luffy's immune to most drugs." Chopper said, eyes wide, "It wouldn't work…"

"After a while you're right. But for a while it be _very effective_. This is that bastard Doflamingo's work."

They all watched as the three were taken off stage, many people in the audience still discussing what they had been told. Zoro told himself not to react, to stay seated and _wait_ until the signal but it was so hard when he saw four men come on stage dragging on two ropes as hard as they could. He just knew what was at the end of those ropes. He thought he was ready for the sight, that it was enough warning. When his Captain stumbled on stage, his wings folded and bent forward by the force of the ropes attached to them that they were using to drag him along. He fought every step of the way, snarling slurred words at them like a drunk and Zoro knew he'd been drugged heavily. They stopped when he reached the center stage, the manager standing right behind his back.

"His vest… they took his vest…" Brook sounded horrified by the taboo in front of them, "Those bastards, what did they do to him?"

"As you can see, the wings are real. Notice how the muscles ripple as he moves them!" A hand ran down Luffy's side causing him to flinch away and try to lash out with a foot. "See how spirited he is? I'm sure he'll be fun to break, ladies and gentlemen. And will you look at the plumage? The vibrant red - "

A hand dug into the feathers on the back and raised them, earning a shout of protest and Garp let out a pained noise of his own, "Why is he reacting that way?"

"Because," Sanji began, chewing his cigarette into pulp, "Winged Ds are very sensitive to touch. Especially the back and wings. Our Captain's apparently the worst. He doesn't like strangers touching him at all, and he _hates_ having his wings touched."

"Is it that painful?"

Franky shook his head, "Says unless you're yanking like that bastard is, it's supposed to feel _real_ good. Luffy-bro just doesn't like it."

"- So soft, too." The manager finally stepped away, moving to the front of the stage. "Such a fine strong young Specimen of a Winged D! He even has a devil fruit, the gumi gumi no mi!"

A finger snap had the four men holding the ropes moving, two across the front of the stage while the other two went to the corner, dragging on their rope as hard as they could to prevent Luffy's lunge towards the others from succeeding. Even from where they sat Zoro could see how his wings shook under the strain at the unnatural position. When the other two reached the far side, the manager snapped again and the four of them did something that made Luffy cry out in true pain. That was alright though, because Luffy was free, the last third of his wings fully extended and - Zoro swallowed thickly as he saw the ropes still attached. The feathers that had been neatly trimmed from around those joints and the smaller cord hanging free. Luffy practically hung from his wings as the men attached the ropes to poles that were obviously there just for that. Zoro couldn't imagine how painful that had been.

"An impressive wingspan, is it not? Now, shall we start the bidding at double his bounty? Do I hear 600,000,000?"

From there the man's words were a blur as the amount kept going up and up. Zoro didn't care about any of that, he just cared about his Captain, weakly struggling on stage with a look at shattered something inside of him. "He's afraid." he muttered.

"Wouldn't you be?" Nami spat out with no real venom.

Zoro shook his head, though not in denial. In truth he'd be terrified in Luffy's shoes, and he'd expected that. But not this mindless, _hopeless_ fear. He'd come expecting to see Luffy angry, maybe a little scared, but mostly angry. He'd _not_ expected this hopeless acceptance he saw in the way Luffy fought. Their Captain had to have known they'd come for him, right? They were Nakama. No one was left behind, Captain's orders.

"He's being sold as a slave, Zoro. _Again_." Nami sounded bitter, "Even if he thought we would come, he wouldn't want us to see him like this. He wouldn't want us to know."

"Well, too bad. He's _not_ allowed to give up." Sanji said with heat, "It's those damn drugs I bet."

Zoro could only hope he was right. Because if he wasn't…. Luffy was alway going to be his Captain, but he couldn't fix this if the younger male gave up.


	23. Chapter 23

_**LAW**_

" _I've managed to free all the other slaves._ " Koala's voice came over the Denden Mushi as the three D brothers got ready to move, eyeing the Human Auction house from one of the grove trees. " _Sorry, Sabo, but looks like the keys to your brother's bomb-collar and seastone cuffs are on the owner._ "

"And let me guess, _he's_ the bastard on stage selling Luffy to the highest bidder." Ace growled, flames flickering to life on the tips of his feathers. Law didn't bother reprimanding him. After all, no one was looking up to see.

"It's not like it makes much of a change in our plan." He shrugged, sure of his abilities to get the collar off his littlest brother.

Sabo nodded, grim faced. "Anything else, Koala?"

"… _. No. We're ready to go on our end._ " They could all hear that there was something she wasn't saying and as they hung up the three brothers stood as one.

Sabo swung his staff around, snapping it into a glider. "Alright. Let's do this. In and out. Through the roof if we can, if not, the Strawhat's will be clearing a path anyway." They pushed off, gliding through the air in a tight circle as they zeroed in on the mark Koala had left on the roof the night before. "There."

"I see it. _ENKAI!_ "

A pillar of flame funneled into the roof of the building with an intensity that incinerated everything it touched. While Law would normally give Ace a hard time about overkill, in this case that was the farthest thing from his mind as he eyed the destruction. No, it wouldn't do to risk Luffy getting hurt by falling debris. Law folded his wings, diving sharply through the opening before the flames had even fully died out and ignoring the heat that sucked the air from his lungs and stung his eyes. There was an awful lot of screaming, and he felt a malicious smile stretch across his face even as he spotted Luffy. He didn't think, he just reacted; wings snapping out to stabilize him as he activated his _room_ and switched the thing on Luffy's neck to the neck of the only other person on stage before circling out of the way of the hole. It was only when Sabo landed in a controlled fall in front of the man, pipe at his throat, that Ace circled in and Law worried about the lack of sound from the youngest of his brothers.

Law forced himself to look, peeling his eyes off the crowd where he had been scanning for trouble and almost fell from the air. His brother way splayed out like some sort of sacrifice on stage, wings stretched out as far as they would go. Luffy's whole body was shaking with the strain and yet even from this angle it was obvious he was tugging at the restraints, further hurting himself. Ace let out an animalistic snarl and the ropes holding their brother burned to ash, dropping Luffy to his knees. Law was by his side in less than a heartbeat.

"Luffy?" A panting whine answered him and he felt the first welling of true fear since the rescue started. He was almost hot to the touch, and while a quick check assured Law that his wings weren't broken, he was still worried. "Lu-ya? Can you hear me?"

"How's he doing?" Sabo asked attempting to search the slime ball who had been selling their brother one handed.

He chose not to answer that. "I need that key. We have to get these cuffs off him."

"Hph. Like I'm going to give the key to the likes of _you_ creatures! I'm doing him a favor—"

"Shut your mouth." Sabo growled out dangerously causing the man to desperately look around for help. Luckily the Strawhat Pirates had sent everyone into a panic and had most people running for the door, too distracted to pay attention to the drama on stage.

"YOU! You, you're a Marine! Stop them at once!" Except for a Marine apparently. The man wasn't dressed the part, being clad in a garishly bright shirt and shorts, though his expression meant business. Law spread his own wings wide as he crouched low over Luffy, protecting his injured brother with his own body. He felt more than saw Ace land heavily nearby. They wouldn't be separated again. If they went down fighting, so be it.

"You're right. I _am_ a Marine." The man strode forward and Sabo tensed, "But, see, I'm not on duty right now."

"What's that got to do with anything?! _Stop them!_ "

"It _means_ STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM MY GRANDSONS YOU BASTARD!" a fist collided with the managers face, snapping it to the side and he dropped like a stone. Law's mouth dropped open in shock even as Ace let out a low whistle. "What? No one threatens the four of you except me."

Sabo was already digging through the downed man's pockets, looking for the key. "That's some twisted logic, Old Man. Here, Law."

He caught the keys on instinct, moving to take the dreadful cuffs off without care of the draining effects on himself. Once Luffy was free he kicked them away and pulled the teen to his feet, "Up, Luffy-ya. We're getting out of here."

"Don' lik' Takoyaki…" Luffy whined into his chest.

"How is he?" The Marine asked, taking a step forward only to be stopped by Sabo's staff leveled threateningly at him. "Sabo, please."

"No." The blond's reply was cold, hard. "You don't come any closer, Jiji."

"I'd never hurt—"

Flames raced the length of the stage, backing up Sabo's words even as Ace slipped under Luffy's other arm. "Come on, short stuff. We got to go."

Luffy shivered, wings twitching. "Can't. _Hurt_."

"We've got you, just bring in your wings, ya. We'll do the rest." Law waited for an answer, a movement, _something_ to tell him Luffy had heard him. He wasn't expecting Luffy to push against him, struggling to get away feebly when he tried to pull in the wing himself.

"Noooooo!"

"Lu, Lu, it's just Law! Calm down!" Ace wrapped his arms around the teen, holding him still.

"A-ace?" The teen whined, "It _hurts_." Brown eyes blinked slowly at Law, "Gotta leave. He _knows_ … please! I can't – don't make it my fault you get caught, too…!"

Law clenched his jaw, resisting the urge to punch something. Taking a deep breath he glared at the Marine, "What did they give him?" earning a surprised look from his brothers.

"I don't know. Something strong, on top of a neurotoxin from a Merman. Can you help him?"

"I'm a doctor, of course I can." Just not here. But knowing it was definitely drugs helped. "Ace, help me with his wings. We're going to need to tie them up."

"What?!"

Law began folding the left one in as quickly as he could. "Neurotoxin, Ace. It's why he's so unsteady. Combined with the strain on his wings, there's no way Luffy has the strength to move them at all right now. Now hurry up."

"And tie them with what? My belt?"

A blue shirt was tossed at Law's face. "Use that to tie them together." Sabo grunted as he tore at his white undershirt, ripping it into two halves and tossing it over. "This is to wrap the wings."

"Good idea." In moments both sides were done up and lashed together. "Can you carry him out? If we try and fly him out…"

"Yeah I know." Sabo nodded.

"Before you go…" The Marine cut in, "Knock me out."

"What? What the hell are you talking about Garp?"

"People have been staying clear because they think I'm handling it. I've got no problem just letting you go, and I'm sure those Strawhat's will get you all out of here. But if I get caught helping you now, the next time…"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, Jiji." Ace rolled his eyes. "I'm going to enjoy this."

"Here. Take this." Garp held out a slightly battered straw hat. "I was keeping it safe."

"…Thanks." Ace said before letting loose with a powerful right hook that sent the man to the ground.

Sabo followed it up with a pole to the head. "What? Got to make it look real and keep him down." He said all too innocently as he knelt slightly for Luffy to be placed on his back. He used the pipe to heft the youngest up a little higher.

"We'll meet you outside." Law said, spreading his wings in preparation for takeoff.

"Start clearing a path, please."

Ace snorted, taking flight, "Yeah yeah, just keep up."

As Law himself made for the hole in the ceiling he heard Luffy mutter, "Why's Jiji here?"

The sky was clear, leaving the two who were flying a clear view of the pandemonium that had broken out around the Human Auction house. Former slaves were escaping out the back, many breaking off into smaller groups of twos and threes to make their way deeper into the archipelago while some were forcing their way to the front of the building where the real fighting was. What a fight, too. Somehow, it appeared as if a good number of those who had initially fled the building had been turned to stone, leaving the Strawhat Pirates plenty of cover. They weren't the only ones taking advantage of this strange turn of events, however. Law could see some of his own crew taking pot shots at Marines from the cover provided, uncaring if the statues were damaged. Spotting Sabo's top hat emerge from the entrance he used _Shambles_ to send a statue or two flying into a cluster of Marines working a cannon. If that lot no longer cared about the safety of those turned to stone he figured it served them right. A bullet clipped a feather and he banked away.

"You land, I'm bulletproof." Ace pointed out, and he complied as his brother lashed out with flaming feathers at the moron who shot at him.

"How is he doing, Sabo-ya?"

"In and out of it. Threw up on me." That wasn't good. "How's it look?"

"About equal. No sign of Whitebeard's men—" A loud rolling shout shook the trees, "but you can hear them." Law deadpanned.

Sabo offered him a tight grin, "That'll make this easier. Oy, Chopper!"

The now lumbering furred man came over, worry etched on his face. "Is Luffy…?"

"No, he's _not_ alright." Law cut him off, blocking a foolish Marine with his sword.

"It's all my fault!"

"You know that's not true, but we can all play the guilt game later. Right now I need to know if you can carry him?"

"Of course! The reindeer nodded, and suddenly he was on four hooves, antlers wrapped tightly in bandages to protect them as he pawed the ground. "I won't let anything else happen to him!"

"You just focus on getting him to the ship. We'll guard you." Sabo grinned, placing the youngest D with great care on the back of the young doctor.

They'd barely managed even a dozen steps before Law was swinging his sword, nearly taking off the head of a man in white who he'd _thought_ had been coming at him with the two blades in his hands. "WHOA! Easy there! You must be Law, right? I'm Thatch." The man smiled widely, like they weren't in the middle of a fight to save Luffy's freedom and possibly all their lives. Law scowled at him, even as he placed the name as one of Ace's best friends. "Glad I ran into you. Well, not literally. Almost lost my head there, haha. Anyway, change of plans. Make for the _Moby Dick._ Your ships are long gone by now."

"What?" He growled out, echoed by Chopper, only louder.

"To Fishman Island. Part of your crew took your sub - nice piece of work, by the way - and Rayleigh took _Sunny_ down with a few of ours. Throw the Marines off."

Sabo's staff lashed out, knocking out a Marine that ran by without even thinking about it, his brow furrowed, "Doesn't that make your ship the obvious target then?"

"Not when _we're_ attacking because some asshole thought it'd be a good idea to try and sell Madame Shyarly. She's a _personal_ friend of Oyaji's and an important Mermaid. Just because they got cold feet doesn't mean we're not going to get retribution." Law had to admire that kind of trickery, and he found himself smirking along.

Sabo, too, wore the same look when he glanced at his brother. Even the young reindeer had a viciously smug look on his muzzle. Law nodded. "Right. Good luck avenging her temporary capture."

"Thanks." Thatch waved his swords high, "FOR OYAJI!" And took off.

"Strange man," Sabo commented as the raced on, "But smart. Even if anyone recognizes Ace with us now, they'll think he just got there early."

From then on all they had to do was follow the flow of overly excited Whitebeard Pirates to locate the ship. Very few had the opportunity to mess with them, surrounded as they were by the large crew and before long they were in sight of the famous ship. Chopper didn't even slow, bounding from tree root to downed tree then onto the deck in an impressive display of dexterity, even for an animal. Law followed soon after with a firm flap while Sabo went the same route the deer took. The deck is still crowded despite the numbers who are wreaking havoc. Law had no time to look about, insead grabbing the arm of the first person who walked by, a man with blond hair that reminded him of a tropical fruit. "Where's your infirmary?"

The man turned, sleepy looking blue eyes sliding over him like he wasn't important to land on Luffy. Law had to still his wings which were twitching, excess energy making him need to mantle. The eyes widened, taking in his youngest brother's condition, "Follow me, yoi."

"If this is a trap, I'll _gut you_." Law promised.

"And I'll help." Chopper growled, following behind, looking fierce.

The man glanced over his shoulder, "I believe you. Now let's get your friend-"

"Brother"

"Captain"

"Let's get your family patched up then."

Sabo stopped at the entrance of the hall, "I'll stay out here. I need to let Koala and Hack know about the change of plans, and I'll make sure everyone else makes it on board, too."

Law just nodded. Luffy was stirring again, and he wanted to make sure he didn't panic. "Shh, You're safe. We're among friends." He was quick to assure the red Winged D as he sat up wobbly on his friend-turned-mount.

Brown eyes looked around in confusion as Luffy fisted Chopper's ruff. He blinked slowly before looking at Law. "He looks like a pineapple."

Yeah, Luffy was going to be alright. Law grinned even as the deer let out a snort. The blond gave them a dirty look. "It's the drugs, ya."


	24. Chapter 24

_**Epilogue**_

Dragon looked at the evil looking News Coo, eye twitching as he debated how much he wanted to lose a finger. The problem was he wasn't sure if taking the paper or not would lose him a finger. Another problem was how the hell the damn thing had found him. He was in the middle of a covert operation, deep undercover, and hadn't _seen_ a Coo in months. But he knew this one. "So do you want me to take the paper or not, Stumpy?"

The bird clacked its beak at him and managed to get ahold of a lock of hair. Which it tugged viciously.

"OW! Fine, I'll take it. Just, watch the foot." He referred to the fact the Stumpy no longer had a peg foot. Somehow his stump had been replaced with a hawk's foot. Which he had used to land on Dragon's knee. Risking it he snatched up the paper and offered the bird a piece of smoked meat which it eyed with disdain. "It's all I have. In case you haven't noticed I'm not exactly by the ocean right now." Reluctantly Stumpy took the food and settled in his lap. That just made him more nervous as he opened the paper.

 _D-AIR-ING RESCUE! WINGED D ESCAPES DURING WHITEBEARD ATTACK ON HUMAN ACTION HOUSE!_

Below the headline was splashed a photo of Sabo and Law with Strawhat in the middle, the two of them looking grim and determined while the third looked unwell. That explained what Sabo'd been up to he supposed. The article was much as he expected as he skimmed it over, noticing it was dated for a little over a month ago. "You came all this way to show me this?" The bird warked at him before tapping the back of the paper. Turning it over, there was a letter. From Sabo. "Ah."

 _Hi, Boss!_

 _So, as you can tell, the family reunion didn't go as planned. Lu managed to get caught by slavers, which really_ WASN'T _his fault! He'd been protecting a crewmember, but he won't hear one word against his crew. Keeps saying how he has to get stronger so he can protect them better next time, because let me tell you, Law and Ace nearly kidnapped Lu into their own crews. His crew put up a hell of a fight over_ that _of course. Now Ace and Law won't let the Strawhats 'take back' their Captain until they've 'proven' they can protect him, so they're all over the island getting stronger, and Lu won't leave without his crew. So we're all kind of stuck here. Whitebeard apparently thinks it's a great thing and he's sort-of-adopted us all. I think. I'm a little confused about that because we're not crew, Lu refused outright to even ally with him, and Cora-san was our guardian, so….? Speaking of, Cora-san's doing well. He hasn't lit himself on fire recently at least. I think he started a betting pool on who's going to 'prove' themselves first._

 _Let's see, what else? Well, with all of us here, Fishman Island's been really peaceful. Despite what happened, or maybe because of it, Luffy makes a great ambassador about being tolerant._

Dragon reread the line. Sabo had never called his younger brother Luffy before. How odd.

 _A Merman and a Fishman were involved in his capture as well as Humans. He doesn't even hold a grudge against those two, though. In fact, he's been following the Merman around pestering him to use his toxin on him like every day! His Nakama says he gets like that about things. Same old Luffy…. Oh, Garp showed up. Thought you should know and all._

Generally, yes, a Vice Admiral showing up was something he should know.

 _I didn't know he was your Dad. Was he a psychopath when you were a kid, too? He spent the whole time trying to give us his 'Fist of Love' but we can fly and he can't. Annnd apparently he's decided Law's his grandson if he's our brother. Sorry about that, you now have four sons. Surprise!_

 _I've got to go. I think Luffy just tried to eat Shirahoshi's shark again._

 _Sabo._

Dragon looked at the letter blankly, trying to absorb what it was telling him, but it was too much right now. Instead he looked at Stumpy. "How the hell did you get here from Fishman Island?"

 _ **-FIN**_


End file.
